The Frontier Worker

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.
com/abstract=2243517

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2243517

THE FRONTIER WORKER
new perspectives on the
labor market in the border regions
ABOUT EDITORS

Adrian-Claudiu POPOVICIU PhD.
Lecturer in the Department of International Relations and European Studies, Faculty of
History, International Relations, Political Sciences and Communications Sciences, University of
Oradea and holder of disciplines European Union Law, International Law, Cross-border Law and
Cross-Border Cooperation.
Since September 2011 he is the holder of the project Jean Monnet The Border, a Space of
Innovation and Cooperation in the European Union, Grant Agreement no. 2011-3241/001-001, which
runs between September 2011 and August 2014.
www.eucrossborderlaw.eu

Dana CIGAN PhD.
Judge and since 2010 is the president of the Court of Appeal Oradea. She is an active
member of Association Magistrats Europens pour la Dmocratie et les Liberts (MEDEL) and of The
National Union of Judges of Romania (UNJR). Between 1994 and 2009 she was titular of the
discipline Civil Law and Intellectual Property Law at Faculty of Law University of Oradea.

THE FRONTIER WORKER
new perspectives on the
labor market in the border regions

Adrian-Claudiu POPOVICIU
Dana CIGAN

(Editors)

Foreword
Alexandru ATHANASIU

References by
Claudia-Ana (MOARC) COSTEA
Cristian MIHE
Dana PANTEA

EDITURA C.H. BECK
Bucharest, 2013

This publication contains the papers of the conference The Frontier Worker New
Perspectives on the Labor Market in the Border Regions, October 18-20, 2012, Oradea, Romania
and it is financed through the Jean Monet Module no. 2011-3241/001-001 with the title The
border, a space of innovation and cooperation in the European Union.
The volume is indexed in international databases and can be downloaded from
www.eucrossborderlaw.eu.

2013 The Authors. All rights reserved.

Editorial Assistance: Florentina CHIRODEA
Cover Design: Adrian BUZA

The full responsibility for the content of the articles belongs solely to the author(s), and the point of
view expressed is not always shared by the editors of this volume.

Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Naionale a Romniei
THE FRONTIER WORKER - NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE LABOR
MARKET IN THE BORDER REGIONS.
Conferin internaional (2012; Oradea)
Conferina internaional Jean Monnet "The frontier worker new
perspectives on the labor market in the border regions": Oradea, 18-20
octombrie 2012 / ed.: Adrian-Claudiu Popoviciu, Dana Cigan; cuv. introd.:
Alexandru Athanasiu; recenzori: Claudia-Ana Moarc Costea, Cristian Mihe,
Dana Pantea. - Bucureti : Editura C.H. Beck, 2013
ISBN 978-606-18-0181-7
I. Popoviciu, Adrian-Claudiu (ed.)
II. Cigan, Dana (ed.)
III. Athanasiu, Alexandru (pref.)
IV. Moarc Costea, Claudia-Ana
V. Mihe, Cristian
VI. Pantea, Dana
331(4)(063)

CONTENTS

Alexandru ATHANASIU
Foreword ..........................................................................................................

7
Adrian-Claudiu POPOVICIU, Dana CIGAN
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................

11
The Free Movement of Workers. Challenges and Trends ................................

13
The Frontier Worker. Romania Hungary Study Case....................................

25

I. Border Region as a Space of Innovation

Luminia OPRONI
The Economic Borders in the Age of Globalization .........................................

53
Mariana BUDA
European Studies Different Developments at the Region Borders ...............

63
Constantin-Vasile OCA
Different Territorial Levels of Romanian-Hungarian Cross-Border
Cooperation ......................................................................................................

71
Cristina-Maria DOGOT
Economic and Technocratic Leadership at Borderland ...................................

81
Hansen Manuel ENVERGA
The Community Intergovernmental Method Dialectic of the EU Blue Card
and the Implications of Language: Evidence from Filipino nurses in Bilbao,
the Basque Contry, Spain .................................................................................

97
Srgio NETO
Anthems and Nations One Song to 27 ...........................................................

113

II. The Frontier Worker between the European Legislations and the National
Procedures

Maurice GUYADER
The Integration of the New Member States on the labour market of the
European Union. The Example of the Year 2004 and of the United Kindom.
Lessons for Romania and Bulgaria in 2012 ...................................................

123
Erno MOLNR, Jnos PNZES, Istvan POLGR
Cross Border Employment along the Hungarian Romanian Border:
Potential Possibility or Daily Reality ...............................................................

129
Kroly TEPERICS, Klra CZIMRE
Study Driven Migration in the Hungarian Romanian Border Region ......

139
Mihai JURC
Frontier Worker Isolated Pfenomenon or Regional Economic Asset ..............

149
Mihaela PTRU
Transfer of Sentenced in Light European and National Regulation ..............

161
George ANGLIOIU
The Free Movement of Services and the Cross-Border Security .....

173
Lavinia ONICA-CHIPEA
Legal Regulation Regarding the Labor Jurisdiction in the Legal Systems
from EU Contries ..

179
Szabolcs PSZTOR, Gabor KOZMA
Border Research and Economic Theory ...

187
Mihaela Ioana TEAC, Carmen Oana MIHIL
The Romanian Workers and the Integration in Stable System of Labour
Market in the Nordic Countries

199

III. Free Movement of Labor Force in the Border Regions

Horian CIOCAN
The New European between Moscow and Brussels .....

211
Stelian NISTOR, Ribana LINC
Cross-Border Protected Areas Present and Perspectives. Romanian
Exemples ...

221
erban OLAH, Drago DRBNEANU
Access on Labor Market of Higher Education Graduates from University of
Oradea ..

233
Florica CHIPEA, Zsolt BOTTYAN
Factors Determining Academic Success in Higher Education. A Quantitative
Analysis in the Cross-Border Area Hajdu Bihar - Bihor .

243
Mircea URSUA
The Solving of Labor Litigations According to the New Civil Procedure
Code ..

255
Cristian MIHE
Criminal Liability in Labor Law ..

265
Maha KATAMI
Border Regions and Integration: Multiculturalism and Integration within
Border Regions, Migrant Work Forces

273

FOREWORD

The European model and its institutionalization by creating the European Union
was both Europe's answer to the material and moral disaster caused by the Second World
War and the project meant to promote freedom, prosperity and justice, including social
justice too.
The founding fathers of the European Union strongly believed that by creating
the common economic market mechanisms and, then, by recognizing human rights and
worker rights according to a unique measure, the armed, religious, and social conflicts will
be avoided and the Member countries way towards progress and prosperity of the
citizens will be opened.
Having in view these objectives which have never been subsequently amended
or abandoned, European Union has built a set of functional values, among which freedom
has taken the role of polarizing all normative and institutional approaches of the
European Union.
Freedom in all its forms, freedom of movement of persons, goods, capital,
services, in time has integrated a double function, on one hand, a fundamental value that
has established all other organizational principles of the European Union and, on the other
hand, an essential premise in improving the normative framework of the European Union.
Of course, freedom is neither at community nor at individual level a value by itself, not
even a negation of national identity or any other human needs.
The European Union must not be built as a model of social and political
organization upon the ruin of the nation states, as Anthony Giddens suggestively
emphasized. On the contrary, the European model founded on the basic value of freedom
is enhanced by rejoiningfreedom with social solidarity and human rights.Only by
understanding freedom in relation to requirements of Community solidarity and with the
guarantees of exercising of human rights, the European model finds its stable balance
between economic progress and prosperity of its citizens; it strengthens and promotes
ethical values of equity.
In this context, the issue whose dynamics is highly visible in all these years
1957-2013 the emergence and development of regulations on worker status and even the
creation of a European social law has become not only a needed normative response to a
concrete reality, but alsoa way to set the work and social relationships in general.

The workers status whose European normative premise lies in the free
movement of labourforcehas "added" gradually new principles targeting equal treatment,
participation in company decision, ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.At the
same time, the expansionof the principle of equal treatment has generated both in the
European Union regulations (primary and derived rules) and in the case-law an extension
of the categories concerning persons covered by EU rules.
Here we refer both to a horizontal extension by including in the category of
workers people with independent activities, and to a vertical extension by recognizing the
workers family members access to certain rights regardless their residence.
Also, it is worth noting that the restrictions contained in national legislation on
access to certain functions or professions were gradually reduced and motivation to
maintain some of these is examined, case by case, taking into account the criteria of
legality, legitimacy and proportionality. In other words, in essence bordercan not justify
discrimination, and the use of national normative barriers on the labour market
represents a violation of the letter and spirit of European social law.
This result was reached not by the Member States abiding by EUs regulations
from the very beginning, but after a relatively long process of evolution and involution, as
testified by any human construction, if we were to rememberGiambattistaVicos famous
formula.
Of course, even today the economic crisis as well as EUs enlargement have put
under discussion the guarantees of maintaining the European social model. Some
decisions of the Court of Justice (see the Laval case) seem to prioritize the EU values,
considering that the EU is rather a free trade market and not a space of democracy,
freedom, prosperity and solidarity.
The appeal to some prejudices and even fantasies of obsolete epochs, such as
xenophobia, supposedly unfair foreigners competition to the labour market, see the
Polish plumber case, restricting access to the labour market in some European countries,
seems to mark a trend in the practice of some EU countries.
It is obvious that against the background of the economic crisis, such attitudes in
society, sometimes supported by the public institutions, prejudice the European spirit and
affects the confidence in the sincerity and determination of EU efforts. It is the merit of all
those who rationally and legally took a firm stand both in the public decision making
process and in the academic Agoraagainst these conceptual drifts persistently promoting
the authenticity of European values.
In fact, the Symposium, whose works characterized by scientific authenticity we
are pleased and honoured to introduce in the present volume, treasures the European
values and the improvement of the mechanisms of their implementation. We believe that
this volume will contribute with its content to a deeper understanding of the European
regulatory body in the letter and spirit of its objectives.
As we have emphasized at the beginning of our preface, the legal regulations,
their tutelage by, common rules, setting of objectives for the benefit of workers from the
industrial democracy to a wide recognition of the freedom of association and participation
in decision making, is the only way to motivate the joint effort of nations inside the
European institutional framework. To a great extent, European solidarity is, a social
solidarity too, shown by the legal condition of workers, and denying, reducing or ignoring
it, dramatically raises the issue of the meaning of the community organizing and even the
very existence of the EU.

We believe that the EU can function neither as an office that issues rules
according to which statistical or meteorological phenomena are measured, nor as a service
standardization of products or services but, as an ever improving activity done through
institutional agencies accepted by all its members who aim to increase the human
condition and improve the economic, social and political organization of the Member
States.
Conceived as a form of collective effort, based on the preservation of human
rights and always oriented towards the good of nations, the EU should transform the
border from a borderline bearing separatist connotations, in a meeting point of common
beliefs and a starting point in expedition of mutually shared ideals.
In conclusion, we warmly recommend reading this book to readers who may
find answers to their questions or raise new ones.
To all those who will open this book, we wish a good and useful reading!

Professor Alexandru ATHANASIU PhD.
Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest
Member of the European Committee of Social Rights
(Council of Europe)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The European Union was has been bult over more than six decades, during which
each and every one of us has continued to build our founding fathers European dream, so
beautifully summarized by R. Schuman: Europe will not be made all at once, or
according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first
create a de facto solidarity.
In this respect, through an actual a solidarity driven by the belief that our destiny
is conditioned by the smooth running of our great family, called the European Union, we
have also created a concrete achievement. We refer to the volume whose editors we have
the honor to be and which gathers a part of the research studies that have been presented at
the Jean Monnet International Conference The frontier worker - new perspectives on the
labor market in the border regions, held at the University of Oradea, during 18-20
October 2012.
Based on the three main themes around which the conference was held: European
social law, border law, and cross-border cooperation, this volume presents articles that
both raise questions (e.g. Who are the frontier workers?, How is the free movement of
labor implemented in the Member States? How does the space frontier look like from the
social, political, economic or legal perspective? How can Romania and Hungary
implement social policy in the border area?), and implicitly provide solutions that can be
applied through concrete public policies in order to improve the lives of the workers and
their families.
Even if our approach is useful, it would not have been achieved without the
support of the European Commission, through the Agency Education, Audiovisual and
Culture, Jean Monnet, Key Activity 1, who financed the project The Border, a Space of
Innovation and Cooperation in the European Union, Grant Agreement no.
2011-3241/001-001, against which background this volume is edited. For the effort to
promote the European values in the entire space of the old continent and all over the
world, we want to give thanks to all those who manage the Jean Monnet Program.
Without the financing of the project The Border, a Space of Innovation and Cooperation
in the European Union, no matter how good our intentions would have been, we
wouldnt have had the opportunity to materialize them.
For his effort in promoting the European values, for his fight in defending the
migrant worker against any abuses and discrimination, but also for the assessments that he
does in the foreword to this volume, we are grateful to Professor Alexandru ATHANASIU
PhD., the Coordinator of the Centre for Comparative Social Law in the Faculty of Law,

University of Bucharest and member of the European Committee of Social Rights
(Council of Europe).
The quality of the Jean Monnet International Conference and the volume would
have been much poorer without the help of the members of the Scientific Committee, who
ensure the academic quality of the articles with their professional prestige and high
interest in European Studies.
A special thought of gratitude we want to give to Professor Claudia-Ana
(MOARC) COSTEA PhD., director of the Department of Private Law at the Faculty of
Law, University of Bucharest and to Associate professor Cristian MIHE PhD., director
of the Department of Law and Administrative Sciences at the Faculty of Law, University
of Oradea, who have successfully completed the task, not always pleasant, to evaluate the
articles from the perspective of their academic standards. We express the same gratitude to
Lecturer Dana PANTEA PhD. for proofreading the articles in this volume and for the
pertinent observations that she made regarding the construction of sentences and accuracy
of expressions.
An invaluable support was given by Lecturer Florentina CHIRODEA PhD., who
was in charge with the editorial assistance of the volume, and for its introduction in
international databases. For the full effort we want to assure her of our entire appreciation.
We would like to thank to C.H. Beck Publishing House who has expressed the
interest in publishing this volume, and to the readers for their interest in the problem of
frontier workers, especially, and European border, generally.
Last but not least we want to thank to the authors of the articles contained in this
volume for the effort in analyzing the assumed theme, for their altruism in sharing the
identified solutions, and for their common hope in a prosper and secure European Union.

Editors

THE FREE MOVEMENT OF WORKERS.
CHALLENGES AND TRENDS


Abstract: To say that migration is not a modern-era phenomenon would be just stating
the obivous. Yet, it is the 21st Centurys globalization that has rendered it a truly global
topical issue. On a relatively small scale, one of the priorities of the European Union (EU)
is to remove barriers to professional mobility issuing from its on integration processes, as
long as workers mobility is essential for the proper operation of the internal market itself.
Currently only 2% of Europeans are exercising their right to work in a different Member
State. Over one million people cross a border every day and every year some 250,000
people are able to export a proportion of their pension rights because they have worked in
more than one EU country. The EU aims to raise public awareness of this right and to
support jobseekers in their search at regional level: the European employment service
network, the vast job database and the EURES portal are in the forefront of the EUs
efforts to promote work mobility. Facilitating mobility also helps to out the labour markets
and therefore the workers who choose mobility should not be penalized as a consequence.
Improving and facilitating the coordination of social security systems are not only
necessities they have become priorities.It has become increasingly difficult for countries
to protect their global interest all by themselves nowadays. For the protection of national
interests and social standards a close co-operation of European Member States is not only
consequential but also reasonable. The EU introduced common standards in those areas
where they produce an added value for everyone, e.g. in the fields of workers rights, parts
of social policy and environmental standards. Minimum standards do not overburden less
powerful countries; they rather contribute to reducing existing differences among EU
Member States. This fosters trade among each other, increases international
competitiveness and decreases dependence on the world market. In order to properly
manage this phenomena, a set of four policies is needed at the level of each Member State
of the EU: policies for control and regulation of the migrants flows; policies for
combating illegal migration and hiring of migrant workers; policies for the social
integration of immigrants; and policies in the field of international cooperation with
regard to the migration.It is our view that implementation of these policies or, to put it

Professor, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest, e-mail: claudia-ana.costea@drept.unibuc.ro

Ana-Claudia (MOARC) COSTEA
14
otherwise, turning skills export into skills globalizing/exchange is possible if we
manage to counter the personal, economic and structural factors that determine the skills
export. From this angle, the policies of countries of origin that promote labour force
migration, including skilled workers migration, and maintain it within controllable flows,
seem justified as a means to reduce unemployment and increase skilled personnel wages,
attract foreign investment and capital and improve theoretical and practical knowledge as
a result of adapting to standards and needs of countries of destination. Likewise,
promoting a positive migration strategy and of steps aiming at protecting labour force and
securing its return need to be among the major concerns of any Member State in the
process of its integration with, and adaptation to, international norms as a possible way of
recovering investments made in human capital and of reaching one of the key targets of
the UE building a knowledge-based society and labor employment, which the 2000
Lisbon European Council decided.

Moto: The free movement is a process that must be managed and not a problem that must
be solved

1. Why free movement of workers?
To say that migration is not a modern - era phenomenon would be just stating the
obvious. Yet, it is the 21st Centurys globalization that has rendered it a truly global
topical issue. On a relatively small scale, one of the priorities of the European Union (EU)
is to remove barriers to professional mobility issuing from its integration processes, as
long as workers mobility is essential for the proper operation of the internal market itself.
Currently only 2% of Europeans are exercising their right to work in a different Member
State. Over one million people cross a border every day and every year some 250,000
people are able to export a proportion of their pension rights because they have worked in
more than one EU country. The EU aims to raise public awareness of this right and to
support jobseekers in their search at regional level: the European employment service
network, the vast job database and the EURES
1
portal are in the forefront of the EU efforts
to promote work mobility
2
.
It has become increasingly difficult for countries to protect their global interests
all by themselves nowadays. For the protection of national interests and social standards a
close co-operation of European Member States is not only consequential but also
reasonable. The EU introduced common standards in those areas where they produce an
added value for everyone, e.g. in the fields of workers rights, parts of social policy and
environmental standards. Minimum standards do not overburden less powerful countries;
they rather contribute to reducing existing differences among EU Member States. This
fosters trade among each other, increases international competitiveness and decreases
dependence on the world market. In order to properly manage this phenomena, a set of
four policies is needed at the level of each Member State of the European Union: policies
for control and regulation of the migrants flows; policies for combating illegal migration
and hiring of migrant workers; policies for the social integration of immigrants; and
policies in the field of international cooperation with regard to the migration.
On the other hand, labour migration is becoming a sensitive issue and
misperceptions are widespread. As per art.4 and 145 TFUE, labour migration is a policy

1
See http://ec.europa.eu/eures/home.jsp?lang=en&langChanged=true.
2
http:/www.europa.eu/rapid/press-release_Memo/09/353.html
The Free Movement of Workers. Challenges and Trends
15
area where competence is shared by the EU and the Member States. EU is faced with
demographic challenges the EU works force will decline by approximately 50 million
by 2060 and the number of dependant old people will increase so it is necessary to
develop a common immigration policy aimed at ensuring the efficient management of
migration flows, the Member States being responsible for the number of non - EU
nationals they admit to work []. Policy makers at all levels have a responsibility to enter
into an informed debate based on facts and long - term view and to further explore the
potential of migration to deal with labour and skill shortages stated last year the EU
Commissioner for home affaires Cecilia Malmstrom
3
.
This paper intents to provide a context in which informed discussion can take
place on labour migration; to unravel some of the complexity surrounding the migrant
worker; to explore the growing volume of high quality research that has been undertaken
with regard to this phenomena; to illustrate some of the challenges and issues facing the
main actors involved when seeking to understand the role that migrant workers play and
their contribution to development as well as to give some insights into the policies and
practices adopted in support the migrant workers in countries of origin and host countries.

2. Correlation between free movement of persons, mobility and migration
The decision to migrate for economic reasons can have both positive and negative
consequences as it is mostly an issue of moving in search of better opportunities. Migrants
may seek to secure a better income; to have access to better social services and improved
prospects for their children fewer than 70 million people moved from a developing to a
developed country
4
. Many migrant workers, especially low skilled workers, experience
serious abuse and exploitation. Women increasingly migrating on their own and now
accounting for almost half of all international migrants, face specific protection problems.
In the face of rising barriers to cross border labour mobility, the growth of irregular
migration, trafficking and smuggling of human beings constitute major challenges to
protection of human and labour rights
5
. Migration for employment and its linkages with
development have emerged as a global issue that affects most countries of the world.
Acommon need should be met with a common response: that of an intelligent
EU/national-wide migration policy, which is not a problem to solve but a process that
must be managed.
In order to better understand this correlation, this paper will focus on the
following concepts
6
:
Free movement of persons - three freedoms of moving within a State; of leaving any
State and freedom of coming back to State/country of origin (the Human Rights
Declaration);
Free movement of workers/intra-EU migration - art. 45 TFUE Our right to move
freely throughout the EU could be summarized as follows: work and reside in
another Member State and for that purpose to remain there when we retire; look for
a job in another Member State and get assistance to do so form local employment
offices; being entitled to enjoy same employment and working conditions as the
nationals of the Member State we are working in; our families enjoy the same social

3
http:/www.europa.eu
4
ILO International Study on Migration 2010, www.ilo.org and www.iom.org
5
http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_48022.htlm
6
See http://www.iom.org/labourmigration.
16
and tax advantages as the nationals of Member State we are working in; transitional
agreements could apply for workers coming to new Member States and their family
members
7
;
Migrant workers - persons working in a country other than their own under
contractual arrangements in a specific job. Migrant worker = Economic
migrant - movement for the purpose of employment and persons entering a State to
perform other types of economic activities (investors, business travelers);
Labour migrant = movement of a person for the purpose of employment;
Highly skilled migrant workers - migrant workers whose skills make them subject to
preferential treatment regarding admission to a country other than their own, and
therefore to fewer restrictions regarding length of stay, change of employment and
family reunification;
Temporary migrant workers - persons employed in a state other than their own to
work for a limited period of time in a particular occupation or specified job. They
may change employers and have their work permit renewed without having to leave
the country of employment;
Country of origin - State of citizenship/Country of destination- Host State;
Return migrants - people who return to their countries of origin after a time in
another country; Forced migration - refugees, asylum-seekers, people forced to
move by development projects or environmental catastrophes.

Labour migration/mobility today is characterized by diversity in origin and
destination situations, and in the forms, statuses, directions and durations of the migration
experience. Whereas most participants in previous streams of migration were embarking
on relatively long - term or permanent migration and immigration, temporary forms of
migration are now becoming more popular. Migration for seasonal work, skilled
migration, student migration, women migrating on their own for employment, forced
migration (armed conflicts, persecutions or environmental disasters), and migration in
irregular situations through trafficking and other means are all becoming increasingly
prominent elements of the picture. Citizens of the EU are free to cross intra - European
borders in search of work and education opportunities, a higher standard of living, or even

7
For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/free-movement-of- workers; http://ec.europa.eu/social-security-
coordination and http:// ehic.europa.eu.

Free movement of persons
Mobility

Legal migration
Occupational Geographical

Political/
Economical
Studies/
Family
17
a more desirable climate
8
. As an area of 27 countries with more than 500 million
inhabitants, the old continent is currently the worlds best research laboratory on legal and
transnational migration
9
.

3. Globalization and mobility
Globalization, in its broad sense encompasses any form of societal change having
a transnational dimension. It is a process that transcends the borders of a State in both
economic and non-economic contexts. It is well known as a process of interdependence
generated largely by growing economic, cultural, and political cooperation and links.
Workers without frontiers is the translation of the relationship between globalization and
mobility/migration, which could be summarized as follows: in the boom years, migrants
picked fruit in southern Californias orange groves, worked on construction sites in Spain
and Ireland, designed software in Silicon Valley and soiled factories all over the rich
world. Many will continue to do so, despite the economic downturn. But as
unemployment rises in most rich countries, attitudes towards migrants are hardening
10
.
Under contemporary globalization, the labour mobility has increased and the
demand of migrant workers is not declining. Globalization and trade liberalization have
had contradictory impacts on employment. It is often said that migrant labour fills the
three-D jobs: dirty, degrading and dangerous, as per the ILO study on international
migration 2010 we can conclude that migrants are in competition only with marginal
sections of the national labour force.when they arenot sufficiently sustained by welfare
provisions, in specific sectors, and/or in the less-developed areas inside these countries.
The persistence of dual labour market under globalization appears to be expanding
the number of precarious jobs that national workers are reluctant to take. As a result, the
demand for foreign labour reflects the long term trend of informalization of low skilled
and poorly paid jobs, where irregular migrants are preferred as they are willing to work in
such conditions. This insertion of irregular migrants responds to a structural need in
developed societies. Trade and finance have become increasingly deregulated and
integrated across regions and globally. By contrast, however, migration policies have not
been liberalized. Current practices regarding labour migration represent fundamental
policy dilemmas for States, social partners and civil society. They must promote
sustainable and standard-based approaches to migration because if the rule of law and
democracy are to be strengthened under economic and social conditions of globalization,
regulation of migration and of the labour market must be strengthened as well.
Growing disparities in wealth, incomes, human rights and demographic trends
across countries are all putting a stress on migration. We can conclude that three major
problems are confronting the States in the globalization era: a. Growing demand for
migrant workers; b.Labour insertion of irregular migrant workers; c. Fundamental policy
dilemmas.

8
http://www.academia.edu/Documents/in/intra-European_Migration; see also http://ulapland.academia.edu/
SaaraKoikkalainen
9
http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature
10
The Economist, July, 1, 2009
18
4. Labour migration characteristics and trends
The concept of labour migration reflects current national policy perspectives and
varies between countries and over time. Europes demographic situation is characterized
by longevity and low fertility. These lead to aging and eventually shrinking domestic
populations and work forces. Given the high levels of employment already reached by
skilled EU nationals, recruitment of migrants from third countries is increasingly
appearing as the main way of responding to the growing demand for medium and high
skilled labour. At the same time Europe experiences a continuing demand for low skilled
labour. Economic disparities as well as demographic changes are powerful push and pull
factors affecting the labour migration.

Looking at the distribution by continent of origin of third country nationals living
in the EU, the largest proportion (36.5 %) were citizens of a European country outside the
EU-27 a total of 7.2 million people; among these more than half were citizens of
Turkey, Albania or Ukraine. The second largest group was from Africa (25.2 %), followed
by Asia (20.9 %), the Americas (16.4 %) and Oceania (0.9 %). More than half of the
citizens of African countries that were living in the EU were from North Africa, often
from Morocco or Algeria. Many Asian non-nationals living in the EU came from Southern
or Eastern Asia, in particular from IndiaandChina. Citizens of Ecuador, Brazil and
Colombia made up the largest share of non-nationals from the Americas living in the
EU
11
.
The citizenship structure of the population of non-nationals living in the EU is
influenced by factors such as labour migration, historical links between origin and
destination countries, and established networks in destination countries. Turkish citizens
made up the largest group of non-nationals living in the Union (comprising 2.4 million
people or 7.2 % of all non-nationals). The second largest group was Romanians living in
another EU Member State (6.6 % of the non-national population), followed by Moroccans

11
http://www.epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Migration_and_migrantpopulation,
2010
19
(5.7%). The group of non-nationals living in the EU with the most significant increase
over the period from 2001 to 2010 was Romanians, their numbers increasing seven-fold
from 0.3 million in 2001 to 2.1 million by 2010.

Migration policies within the EU are increasingly concerned with a particular
migrant profile, often in an attempt to alleviate specific skills shortages. Selection can be
carried out on the basis of language proficiency, work experience, education and age.
Besides policies to encourage labour recruitment, immigration policy is often focused on
two areas: preventing unauthorised migration and the illegal employment of migrants who
are not permitted to work, and promoting the integration of immigrants into society. In the
EU, significant resources have been mobilised to fight people smuggling and trafficking
networks
12
.
An analysis of the age structure of the resident population shows that, for the
EU-27 as a whole, the non-national population was younger than the national population.
The distribution by age of non-nationals shows, with respect to nationals, a greater
representation of adults aged between 20 and 47; this feature is evident when looking at
the corresponding population pyramids. In 2010, the median age of the EU-27 total
population was 40.9 years, while the median age of non-nationals living in the EU was
34.4 years
13
.

12
Ibidem
13
http://www.degruyter.com; http://www.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistiscs_explained
20
For these demographic and economic reasons during this century all member
States will either remain or become immigration countries. Due to these facts it is not only
likely but also necessary that EU continues to manage economically motivated
migration, to recruit attractive potential immigrants and put in place a pro-active
approach to immigration, policy coordination in tackling shortages of labour and skills.
Europe must also envisage future selection mechanisms of a pro-active migration policy
by assessing both qualifications and adaptability of potential immigrants and offering
them sufficiently attractive conditions and better protection in order to match EU
labour needs and needs to sustain economic growth as well as support for the public
pension system
14
.

The drivers of migration
15

Migration is a highly complex concept and reflects a wide range of global issues
and challenges, including the so called PUSH and PULL factors PUSH factors in
countries of origin, such as: regional political conflicts and turbulences; economic
instability and recession; natural and human-induced disasters (flooding, crop failure,
hurricanes etc.); political oppression and internal instability within countries.
PULL factors that attract migrants to move to new countries of destination, such
as: economic opportunity and development; skills and labour shortages (created by
structural changes within the population, reflected in aging and declining birth rates);
perceived welcoming social and political conditions; attraction of cultural and national
diaspora in receiving countries, which are very well correlated in the following figure:

14
N. Diez Guardia and K. Pichelmann, Labour Migration Patterns in Europe: Recent Trends, Future
Challenges, September, 2006, http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance; A. Zaiceva, K.F. Zimmermann,
Scale, Diversity, and Determinants of Labour Migration in Europe in, IZA DP No. 3595, Institute for the
Study of Labor, July 2008
15
Nature, vol. 478, 2011
21
5. Priorities and issues faced by countries of origin and host countries in
formulating the labour migration policy
As stated in the OECD International Migration Outlook 2012
16
, origin countries
migration policies are generally aimed at increasing the number of migrants going abroad
for benefits in the form of remittances and reduce pressure on domestic unemployment.
Their concern is to ensure as far as possible the protection and welfare of their migrant
workers through two policy options: regulatory measures and the provision of support
services. An equally important concern of them is optimizing the development benefits
from organized labour migration (policies, legislation and structures which promote
foreign employment and reduce the irregular movements). Migration and development are
inseparable and interdependent processes in a globalizing world but migration cannot be a
substitute for development, and development is not necessarily dependent on migration.
For developing countries, which are usually countries of origin, employment of their work
force outside the country may mean:
Remittance;
Reduce vulnerability of families;
Greater empowerment of women;
Impacts on social institutions;
Loss of skills and educated population;
Financial social human capital impact of return migration;
Greater potential for small business and entrepreneurship.
For the host countries, migration policies focus on the increase or reduction of
legal migration, on indirect recruitment in order to meet and secure current business needs
and less protection. The focus is on managing temporary migration, which requires that
migrants will return to their country of origin after their contract is ended. It is necessary
to offer adequate pre-departure or skills training with regard to the work and living
condition, awareness of basic rights, sufficient language capabilities, cultural awareness
and knowledge on how to access organized labour. For developed countries, which are
usually host countries, the interaction between development and migration could:
Increase efficiency in use of global resources;
Increase the supply of SMEs;
Accelerate the growth per capita income;
Increase creativity and diversity;
Accelerate innovation.
An efficient labour migration policy should focuse on national action plans and
shared values with a view to getting a better protection and provides welfare to the
migrant workforce and also to contribute to the national development.

6. Looking ahead or what we might learn from past experience
17

The key stakeholders involved in the labour migration process are: International
and regional institutions ILO, IOM, EU Commission, Council of Europe; Governments of
origin and destination countries; Private sector (business and suppliers) and Trade Unions
and civil society. Their policies, mission and visions in order to protect the migrant
workers could be summarized as follows:

16
OECD Handbook on establishing effective labour migration policies, 2006
17
See also BSR report on south labour migration at www.bsa.uk.
22
Educate yourself (a well prepared worker):
Grow awareness of labour migration;
Learn about recruitment and employment practices of your suppliers;
Assess national labour laws;
Determine the levels of preparation workers and identify potential risks area;
Understand the dispute resolution process in key sourcing countries;
Learn about regional and international dialogue, tasksforces, objectives and
accomplishments;
Investigate the level of pre-departure training in important origin countries.

Engage with your suppliers: change policies and practice
Training on basic rights awareness on local resources for migrant workers;
Partnership (suppliers with recruiters) to develop basic job skills and matching
training programs;
Increase transparency and communication channels.

Expand your influence:
Advocate a shift toward protection focused policies and practices;
Talk to government;
Cooperate with peers developing a coordinated private sector approach, create
guidance manuals;
Engage civil society and Trade Unions to dispense training in destination and
origin countries, catalyze partnership with NGOs to provide migrant workers with
resources.

Migration today is about work and it is being acknowledged as a major concern
for employers, workers and labour ministries. Addressing migration means promoting
employment and social protection, it especially requires anti-discrimination and
integration initiatives.
23
What is needed?
18

1. An informed and transparent labour migration admission system based on regular
labour market assessments conducted in consultation with the social partners to
legitimate labour needs and domestic concerns alike; legal labour migration
channels contribute to reducing trafficking, smuggling and exploitation of migrants;
2. Enforcement of minimum national employment conditions standards in all sectors
of activities for protection of nationals workers and migrants as well as monitoring
the irregular employment and migration;
3. A standards-based approach to migration management = establishing legal rights
and policy standards in order to insure social legitimacy and accountability;
4. Action plans against discrimination to sustain social cohesion;
5. Institutional mechanisms for consultations and coordination with social partners in
policy elaboration and practical implementation, to ensure coordination with
governments with regard to supervision of recruitment, administration of
admission, public education, training of public service and law enforcement
agencies, recognition of educational equivalences, provision of health and social
services, rights restoration and recovery.

Fully addressing the dynamics of labour migration today also requires answering
the following questions: how important are labour conditions in explaining migration
trends? How to link migration flows and economic conditions? Does EU labour migration
correlate with unemployment rates during periods of unsettled growth?
19
; as well as
policies for labour mobility in regional integration areas; changing terms of trade and
international relations to facilitate development in more equal terms; creation of
specialized institutions for coordination, monitoring and enforcement; encouraging
voluntary return and reintegration of migrants into their countries of origin; equal
treatment and equal outcomes.

BIBLIOGRAFY
Alexe, Iris; Punescu, Bogdan (coord.), Studiu asupra fenomenului imigraiei n Romnia.
Integrarea strinilor n societatea romneasc, electronic edition, 2011;
BSR initiative South-South Labour Migration, www.bsr.uk;
Guardia, D. N.; Pichelmann K., Labour migration patterns in Europe: Recent trends,
Future challenges, 2006;
Guild, E.; Crrera, S., Labour migration and Unemployment, in Justice and Home Affairs
in CEPS Papers, February, 7, 2012, www.ceps.eu;
Kahanec, M.; Zimmermann, K, Migration in an enlarged EU: A challenging solution? in
Economic Papers, 363, March, 2009;
IER, Fenomenul migraionist n Romnia din perspectiva aderrii Romniei la Uniunea
European, 5
th
Study, www.ier.ro;
ILO, Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration-Non-binding principles and
guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration, 2006, www.ilo.org;

18
See for details, ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour migration, ILO 92-PR22-289.
19
See for details Elsphet Guild, Sergio Carrera, Labour migration and Unemployment: What can we learn
from EU rules on the free movement of workers, CEPS, 07.02.2012 at www.ceps.eu; forbetter policies on
gender migration, Guide on Gender-Sensitive Labour Migration Policies 2009 at http://www.osce.org.
24
Idem, Policies and practices of highly skilled migration in times of the economic crisis,
www.ilo.org;
Idem, Handbook on establishing effective labour migration, 2006, www.ilo.org;
Institutul Naional de Statistic, Romnia n cifre, 2011, www.insse.ro;
IOM, Handbook on establishing effective labour migration. Policies in countries of Origin
and Destination, 2006, www.iom.org;
Idem, Migration statistical data; Migration and development, www.iom.org;
Idem, Migration, Employment and the Outcomes of Labour Market Integration Policies in
the EU, 2010, http://labourmigration.eu;
Munz, R., Migration, Labour Markets and integration of Migrants: An overview for
Europe, 2008;
Migraia i mobilitatea forei de munc din Romnia n contextul integrrii europene,
www.euro.ubbcluj.ro;
OECD, Free movement of workers and labour market adjustment. Recent experiences
from OECD countries and European Union, 2012, www.oecd.org;
Idem, International Migration Outlook, 2012, www.oecd.org;
People Protectionism inThe Economist, July 1, 2009 b;
The EU needs more labour migration, September 2011, www.euractiv.com.

THE FRONTIER WORKER.
ROMANIA HUNGARY STUDY CASE

Adrian-Claudiu POPOVI CI U

Abstract: The migrant worker is the most important constituent of the Free Movement of
workers, freedom which, along with the other three, defines the essence of the existence of
the European Union. Although the institution of the migrant worker is very well defined in
the law and jurisprudence of the European Union, there are still a number of legal
incidents of this institution which still raises questions of interpretation and uniform
application: who enters in the category of workers? Which is the coverage sphere of
intermediate categories and which are their rights? What types of legal restrictions the
states may impose to the workers and their families or the rights of the latter? Once with
the developing of the European policies of cross-border cooperation at the level of the
European Union, the social-economic necessities determined the apparition of the border
worker, as specific type of migrant worker. Even if the concept of border worker is well
defined by the legislation of the European Union, the accelerated development of the
cross-border cooperation and of multiplication of the European Groups of Territorial
Cooperation creates legislative syncope at the level of the states members of the European
Union. The case study on the frontier worker from the Romanian-Hungarian space will
highlight the strengths and weaknesses of these issues, opportunities and threats faced by
this category of workers, but also how to synchronize the laws of the two European
countries with de facto situation in this border area.

Keywords: freedom of movement, worker, European Union legislation, national rules,
border region

1. Introduction
If the free movement of persons is one of the four pillars of the European Union
(EU), then we can say that the worker is one of the most important integrator factors of the

Lecturer, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of Oradea,
e-mail: apopoviciu@uoradea.ro
26
European project. The structural development cannot be done unless by a unique, unitary
and social vision upon the legislative assembly that norms the worker and his family. In
the context of social and economic development of border areas, of deepening of policies
determined by Schengen, the border worker is a determining factor in the cohesion of the
border area.
The analysis we do has as central theme the frontier workers as specific legal
institution of the European Union. Structurally, we have divided this research in five parts:
1. Introduction, where we introduced the general socio-economic situation existing in the
border area between Romania and Hungary, which favours the development of a dynamic
workforce, competitive and producing a harmonious development of this space; 2. The
concept of worker and the frontier worker is the second part of our analysis, where we
present the way in which it is normative, the primary and secondary legislation of the
European Union, the worker and the legal institution of frontier workers; 3. The frontier
worker in Romanian legislation, as a member state of the European Union, Romania has
assumed, by the accession treaty, the implementation, accountability and compliance with
European rules. In this part of our analysis we will present how Romania has transposed
into national law EU rules on frontier workers; 4. The frontier worker in Hungarian
legislation is the fourth part of our work and aims the way in which to Hungarian law it
was transposed and applied the EU legislation, which refers to frontier worker; 5. The last
part of the work is dedicated to Final remarks.
Methodologically, the work is based on a longitudinal analysis of labour market
approach with two case studies from Romania and Hungary. For a more pertinent
embossing of the border workers, in our investigative approach we also used data
interpretation method through comparative analysis of European legal and national
framework. Through this research, we want to determine how the two are made
compatible with the national legal framework of the European Union, and the degree of
functionality of bureaucratic procedures in implementing the free movement of labour in
the border region.
Romania and Hungary have been accepted into the European Union in the last
enlargement, the fifth, who originates from Luxembourg European Council (December
1997) and the one from Helsinki (December 1999). Even if Hungary joined the European
Union on 1 May 2004 and Romania on 1 January 2007, by the common European destiny
of the two states, they are obliged to achieve a strengthened partnership focused on
increasing their welfare and harmonious economic development.
The border between Romania and Hungary has a total length of 448 km, of which
415.9 km lend and 32.1 km river
1
. On the Romanian side there are four counties, Satu
Mare, Bihor, Arad and Timi, and on the Hungarian side there are Szabolcs-Szatmr-
Bereg, Hajd-Bihar, Bks and Csongrd. All the 8 counties are classified as NUTS III
and are integrated in 4 regions of level NUTS II
2
.

1
National Institute of Statistics, Statistical yearbook 2011, Geography, Meteorology And Environment, p. 11,
http://www.insse.ro/cms/files/Anuar%20statistic/01/01%20Geografie_ro.pdf, accessed at January 14, 2013
2
The counties Szabolcs-Szatmr-Bereg and Hajd-Bihar belong to szak-Alfld Region; the counties Bks
and Csongrd are part of Dl-Alfld Region; counties Arad and Timi belong to West Region; counties Satu
Mare and Bihor are part of the North-West Region. For further details it can be seen Eurostat, Regions in the
European Union, Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics, NUTS 2006 /EU-27, http://epp.eurostat.ec.
europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-RA-07-020/EN/KS-RA-07-020-EN.PDF, accessed at January 14, 2013.
The Frontier Worker. Romania Hungary Study Case
27
Figure 1. The location of counties along the
Romanian-Hungarian border

Source: http://www.huro-cbc.eu/en/download

For an overview upon the analysed space, we will present some social and
economic indicators, which burdens upon the labour market in Romania and Hungary,
both nationally and regionally on the border between the two countries.
In Romania at 30 November 2012 there were registered 4,321.6 thousand persons
employees in the economy, of which the more are in: industry 1,268.6 thousand persons;
manufacturing 1,039.5 thousand persons; wholesale and retail/repair of motor vehicles
and motorcycles 709.9 thousand persons
3
.

As seen in the above graphic, regarding the average gross earnings we have for
November 2012 a total of 2,173
4
Lei, of which the biggest sums were registered in:
financial intermediation and insurance 4,973 Lei; information and communica-

3
National Institute of Statistics, Monthly Statistical Bulletin 11/2012, p. 100-103, http://www.insse.ro/cms/
files/arhiva _buletine2012/bsl_11.pdf, accessed on January 10, 2013
4
On 29 November 2012 the exchange rate was 1 Euro for 4.5059 Lei, source: National Bank of Romania,
Exchange rates, http://www.bnro.ro/files/xml/nbrfxrates2012.htm, accessed at January 15, 2013.
28
tion 4079 lei; public administration and defence; social insurance of public sector
(except armed forces and similar (M.N.D., M.A.I., R.I.S. etc.) 2,875 Lei
5
.

Figure 2. The geographical location of North-West Development
Region and West Development Region

Source: Romania, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration,
http://www.mdrt.ro/en/dezvoltare-regionala/programul-operational-regional-2007-2013/-2975

On what concerns the North-Western Region, due to the Statistics for 2010, it had
a total population of 2,740.1 thousand people and the population density was 80.2
inhabitants/km
2
. It is a multi-ethnic region, next to Romanians, where more than half
(52.8%) of Romanias ethnic Hungarians live alongside Romanians.
At the beginning of 2011, according to the Labour Force Figures produced by the
National Institute of Statistics, the regions workforce totalled 1,778,400 people, of whom
64.9% were in employment. The participation of the active population to the main
economic areas is: agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (31.6%), industry and
construction stand at 29.3%, with services at 39.1%. The rate of unemployment registered
on 31 July 2012 was 3.96%, with 48 600 unemployed people being registered. At 2010,
services contribute a significant percentage (47.9%) to the regional GDP, and agriculture
contributes 7.7% to the GDP. The main developed industries include: light industry
(textiles, clothing, leather and footwear); food industry (alcoholic beverages and soft
drinks); chemicals; machinery; equipment; lead storage batteries; aluminium radiators;
steel wires; electric conductors and cables; timber and wood products; pulp and paper;
household glassware; porcelain; wall tiles; metallurgy; electricity, thermal and gas power.
6

From the point of view of the economic development level, The North-West
Region is considered to be a developed region, with economic results superior to the
national average for most indicators analysed, having a high increasing potential. The
results of calculations place the region, most times, on the first places in the national
ranking
7
.
On what concerns the occupations most frequently listed on The European Job

5
National Institute of Statistics, Monthly Statistical Bulletin 11/2012, p. 104-107, http://www.insse.ro/cms
/files/arhiva_ buletine2012/bsl_11.pdf, accessed on January 10, 2013
6
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal, http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?lang=en&acro=lmi&
catId=9464&countryId=RO&regionId=RO1&langChanged=true, accessed at 20 January, 2013
29
Mobility Portal EURES, in North-West Region are solicited: assembling labourers; heavy
truck and lorry drivers; shop sales persons and demonstrators; technical and commercial
sales representatives; general managers in wholesale and retail trade; waiters, waitresses
and bartenders; mechanical engineers; building construction labourers; business
professionals not elsewhere classified; computer systems designers and analysts
8
.
The other region, found at the Romanian border with Hungary is West Region. It
is located in the extreme western frontier of Romania being bordered by Serbia in the
south-west and the border with Hungary in the west. The regions surface has 32,034 km
2
,
meaning 13.42 % of the total surface of the country, occupying, from this perspective, the
6
th
place of the 8 regions of development that exist in Romania
9
. The population of this
region recorded in 2011 a total of 1.9 million inhabitants, which are 8.93 of the total
population of Romania.
10
The population density in l 2011 was of 59.74 inhabitants/km
2
.
From a social point of view, on 1 January 2011, the regions labour pool totalled
1,275,300 persons, of whom 63.6% were in employment. From the point of view of
employment in the main economic sectors, employment in the industry and the
construction sector is predominant (33.6%). Employment in agriculture, forestry and
fishing stands at 25.1%, and services are predominant (41.3%)
11
.
The industrial sector of the region covers nearly all branches: information and
communication technology, machine building, electronic parts, wood processing, mining
industry, chemical industry, medicine production, textiles, food industry, ceramics and
glassware. With 50,048 industrial, construction and service operational companies (9.3%
of all companies in Romania), West Region has a density of 26.04 enterprises for each
1000 inhabitants, above the national average (24.82 enterprises for each 1000
inhabitants)
12
.
Regarding the occupations most frequently listed on The European Job
Mobility Portal EURES, in West Region are required: helpers and cleaners in offices
(hotels and other establishments); assembling labourers; general managers in wholesale
and retail trade; waiters, waitresses and bartenders; structural-metal preparers and
erectors; building construction labourers; shop sales persons and demonstrators; technical
and commercial sales representatives; freight handlers; welders and flame cutters
13
.

7
The North-West Regional Development Agency (RDA), http://www.nord-vest.ro/Document_Files/
Documente/00000223/oiro5_Profilul%20regiunii%20-%20noiembrie%202012.pdf, accessed at 20 January,
2013
8
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal, http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=9464&lmi=Y&acro=
lmi&lang=en&recordLang=en&parentId=&countryId=RO&regionId=RO1&nuts2Code=RO11&nuts3Code=n
ull&mode=trends&regionName=Nord-Vest, accessed at 20 January, 2013
9
Regional Development Agency West, Sustenabilitatea motor al dezvoltarii n Regiunea Vest, November
2012, p. 26, http://adrvest.ro/attach_files/Raport%20privind%20Dezvoltarea%20Durabila%20in%20Regiunea
%20Vest.pdf, accessed at December 20, 2012
10
Ibidem, p. 29
11
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal, http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?lang=en&acro=lmi
&catId=9463&countryId=RO&regionId=RO4&langChanged=true, accessed at 20 January, 2013
12
Dynamic Regional Economy, http://www.regiuneavest.ro/en/5-reasons-to-invest/dynamic-regional-econo
my, accessed at December 20, 2012
13
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal, http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=9463&lmi=Y&
acro=lmi&lang=en&recordLang=en&parentId=&countryId=RO&regionId=RO4&nuts2Code=RO42&nuts3C
ode=null&mode=trends&regionName=Vest, accessed at 20 February, 2013
30
On the other side of the border, Hungary has a population of 9,958,000
inhabitants
14
, of which the situation on the Hungarian labour market on June 11, 2012
15

was as follows:

Employed 3,779,000
p
e
r
s
o
n
s

Unemployed 467, 900
Economically active 4,246,600
Economically inactive 2,523,600
Population aged 1574 6,770,200
Participation rate 62.7
%
Unemployment rate 11.0
Employment rate 55.8

The situation of the number of employees on activity fields
16
is:

Agriculture, forestry and fishing 185,100
Mining and quarrying 11,100
Manufacturing 809,000
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply 38,100
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and
remediation activities
51,600
Construction 264,000
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles
and motorcycles
545,700
Transportation and storage 259,200
Accommodation and food service activities 163,500
Information and communication 91,800
Financial and insurance activities 91,800
Real estate activities 21,500
Professional, scientific and technical activities 137,900
Administrative and support service activities 114,200
Public administration and defense; compulsory social
security
309,600
Education 316,900
Human health and social work activities 255,000
Arts, entertainment and recreation 62,800
Other service activities 83,200

Based on the above figures, in the following graphical configuration there are
our employees of Hungary:

14
Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Population, vital statistics 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/stadat_long,
accessed at December 10, 2012
15
Idem, Economic activity of population aged 1564 by sex 2011, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat
/xstadat_long/mpal9807_01_02a.html, accessed at December 10, 2012
16
Idem, Employed persons by industry and sex 2011, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_long
/mpal9807_02_01_02a.html, accessed at December 10, 2012
31

Agriculture, f
orestry and
fishing
5%
Industry
31%
Service
64%

As regards the average gross monthly earnings of employees in the national
economy it can be stated the best paid domains were in 2012: financial and insurance
activities 459,741 HUF
17
; information and communication 410,091 HUF; public
administration and defense; compulsory social security 247,139 HUF
18
. It can be seen
that we have a similar layout, on top domains, with Romania.
At the level of the two regions which lie on the border with Romania, i.e.
szak-Alfld Region (Northern Great Plain) and Dl-Alfld Region (Southern Great
Plain), the statistics on configuration labour and economic capacity show a close
development without major differences.

Figure 3. The geographical location of szak-Alfld Region
(Northern Great Plain) and Dl-Alfld Region (Southern Great Plain)

Source: The Government of the Republic of Hungary, The North Great Plain Operational
Program 2007-2013, http://www.eszakalfold.hu/userfiles/en/Development_documents/
EA_Opertative_Program.pdf, accessed at January 10, 2013

17
On 29 November 2012 the exchange rate was 1 Euro to 279.3 HUF, see European Central Bank, Euro
exchange rates HUF, http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-huf.en.html, accessed
at February 22, 2013.
18
Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Average gross monthly earnings of employees in the national economy
2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual/i_qli012b.html, accessed at February 22, 2013
32
The szak-Alfld Region (Northern Great Plain) is situated in the northern
and central are of the Romanian-Hungarian border, having as neighbours the counties Satu
Mare and Bihor, respectively the North-West Region Romania. The territory of the North
Great Plain Region means 19.1% (17,729 km
2
) of the whole territory of Hungary. This
region has a total population, in 2012, of 1,473,036 inhabitants
19
(population density 83
persons/km), of whom 1,013,567
20
inhabitants are of 15 and 64 years old. Regarding the
labour market, in this region, in 2012, were registered 522 300 employed persons
21
and 84
400 unemployed persons
22
.
The configuration of distribution of the main fields of activity is outlined in
the chart below
23
:

About the average monthly gross earnings of employees in szak-Alfld Region
(Northern Great Plain) in was registered in 2010 the value of 160,761 HUF
24
, and the
average monthly net earnings of employees was of 111,943 HUF
25
. In 2012 regarding the
number of registered jobseekers
26
there are 134,852 persons. In the category of provisions
for registered jobseekers
27
we have the following image: 10,826 persons recipients of
jobseekers allowance and 56,050 persons recipients of social benefit.
Economically, in terms of main statistical indicators
28
, szak-Alfld Region
(Northern Great Plain) presents the following characteristics:

19
Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Resident population by sex 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/
xstadat_annual/i_wdsd003a.html, accessed at February 22, 2013
20
Idem, Resident population by age-group 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
/i_wdsd004b.html, accessed at February 22, 2013
21
Idem, Number of employed persons 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
/i_qlf021.html, accessed at March 5, 2013
22
Idem, Number of unemployed persons 2012,http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
23
Idem, Employed persons by industries, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual/i_qlf032.html,
accessed at March 5, 2013
24
Idem, Average monthly gross earnings of employees 2010, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat
_annual/i_qli049.html, accessed at December 15, 2012
25
Idem, Average monthly net earnings of employees 2010, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat
_annual/i_qli050.html, accessed at December 15, 2012
26
Idem, Number of registered jobseekers 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat
_annual/i_qlf028.html, accessed at February 13, 2013
27
Idem, Provisions for registered jobseekers 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
/i_qlf029.html, accessed at February 13, 2013
28
Idem, Regional statistics, General economic indicators, http://www.ksh.hu/stadat_annual_6_3, accessed at
February 20, 2013
33
Indicator Value Reference year
Gross domestic product (GDP) 2,513,925 HUF 2010
Gross domestic product per capita 1,690,000 HUF 2010
Number of registered enterprises by legal form 267,792 enterprises 2011
Number of newly born corporations and unincorporated
enterprises
6,053 enterprises 2012
Enterprises with foreign direct investment 886 enterprises 2010
Foreign direct investment of enterprises with foreign
direct investment
587 billion HUF 2012
Investments by material-technical category 430,168 million HUF 2011
Number of R&D units 307 units 2010

In the first half of 2011 some 94,400 jobseekers were newly registered in the
szak-Alfld Region (Northern Great Plain). The most frequently sought professions by
registered jobseekers were: other labourers (21,800), sales clerks (6,700), other security
guards and similar simple professions (4,700), office administrators, clerks (3,700)
29
.
The Dl-Alfld Region (Southern Great Plain) is situated in the South and
South-East part of the Romanian-Hungarian border area, having as neighbours the
counties Bihor, Arad and Timisoara, respectively the North-West Region West Region of
Romania. The region includes the Bcs-Kiskun, Bks and Csongrd counties and has a
total population, in 2012, of 1,299,418 inhabitants
30
(population density 71 persons/km),
of whom 887 729
31
inhabitants have between 15 and 64 years old. Regarding the labour
market, in this region, in 2012, were registered 487,900 employed persons
32
and 57,400
unemployed persons
33
. The configuration of distribution of the main fields of activity is
outlined in the chart below
34
:

0
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
Agriculture Industry Services
Employed
persons
47,800
Employed
persons
143,500
Employed
persons
296,600

29
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal, http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=2774&lmi=Y&acro=
lmi&lang=en&recordLang=en&parentId=&countryId=HU&regionId=HU3&nuts2Code=HU32&nuts3Code=
null&mode=surpluses&regionName=Eszak-Alfold, accessed at 20 February, 2013
30
Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Resident population by sex 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/
xstadat_annual/i_wdsd003a.html, accessed at February 22, 2013
31
Idem, Resident population by age-group 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual/i_wdsd
004b.html, accessed at February 22, 2013
32
Idem, Number of employed persons 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual/i
_qlf021.html, accessed at March 5, 2013
33
Idem, Number of unemployed persons 2012,http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
34
Idem, Employed persons by industries, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual/i_qlf032.html,
accessed at March 5, 2013
34
About the average monthly gross earnings of employees in Dl-Alfld Region
(Southern Great Plain) it was registered in 2010 the value of 163,974 HUF
35
, and the
average monthly net earnings of employees was of 113,981 HUF
36
. In 2012 on the number
of registered jobseekers
37
have 79,639 persons. In the category provisions for registered
jobseekers
38
we have the following situation: 8,291 persons recipients of jobseekers
allowance and 24,624 persons recipients of social benefit.
Economically, in terms of main statistical indicators
39
, Dl-Alfld Region
(Southern Great Plain) presents the following characteristics:

Indicator Value Reference year
Gross domestic product (GDP) 2,277,887 HUF 2010
Gross domestic product per capita 1,734,000 HUF 2010
Number of registered enterprises by legal form 252,404 enterprises 2011
Number of newly born corporations and unincorporated
enterprises
7,814 enterprises 2012
Enterprises with foreign direct investment 1,360 enterprises 2010
Foreign direct investment of enterprises with foreign
direct investment
524.7 billion HUF 2012
Investments by material-technical category 456,382 million HUF 2011
Number of R&D units 352 units 2010

On what concerns the occupations most frequently listed on The European Job
Mobility Portal EURES, in Dl-Alfld Region (Southern Great Plain) are required:
shop sales persons and demonstrators; cooks; bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery
makers; waiters, waitresses and bartenders; structural-metal preparers and erectors; heavy
truck and lorry drivers, building and related electricians; secretaries; estate agents;
business professionals not elsewhere classified.
40

Based on the Cross-border Co-operation Program 2007- 2013, threw Hungary-
Romania Cross-Border Co-operation Program 2007-2013
41
, it had been identified that the
areas with the greatest potential for growth in major cities that lie along the Romanian-
Hungarian border are:
Nyregyhza (Northern Great Plain) tourism, electronic, high-technology industry,
logistical services;
Debrecen (Northern Great Plain) leisure, event and thermal tourism; health
industry; food industry, higher education, R+D;

35
Idem, Average monthly gross earnings of employees 2010, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_
annual/i_qli049.html, accessed at December 15, 2012
36
Idem, Average monthly net earnings of employees 2010, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_
annual/i_qli050.html, accessed at December 15, 2012
37
Idem, Number of registered jobseekers 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
38
Idem, Provisions for registered jobseekers 2012, http://www.ksh.hu/docs/eng/xstadat/xstadat_annual
39
Idem, Regional statistics, General economic indicators, http://www.ksh.hu/stadat_annual_6_3, accessed at
February 20, 2013
40
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal,http://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=2769&lmi=
Y&acro=lmi&lang=en&recordLang=en&parentId=&countryId=HU&regionId=HU3&nuts2Code=HU33&nut
s3Code=null&mode=trends&regionName=Del-Alfold, accessed at 20 February, 2013
41
Hungary Romania Cross-border Co-operation Program 2007- 2013, p. 11, http://huro-
cbc.eu/en/download, accessed at November 20, 2012
35
Bkscsaba (Southern Great Plain) food industry, transport;
Szeged (Southern Great Plain) culture, tourism, higher education, R+D, logistical
services;
Satu Mare (North-West Region) machine building industry, light industry, logistical
services
Oradea (North-West Region) trade and services, cultural, thermal tourism, higher
education, light industry (footwear, leather, textiles/garments) food, chemical,
furniture;
Arad (West Region) rich cultural heritage, higher education, logistical services,
industry (production of car parts, freight and passenger railcars), food and textile;
Timioara (West Region) processing industry, logistical services, culture, tourism,
education, R+D.

2. The concept of worker and the frontier worker
The essence of the right of free movement of persons is to eliminate
discrimination between nationals of Member States irrespective of the territory on which
they are located and work and aims at creating a single market for labour
42
. The main and
direct beneficiaries of the right of free movement of persons are the workers. The EU
legislation, incident of this social group, has grown sinuously, given that the primary and
secondary sources do not provide a clear definition of community worker. Thus Article 39
of the Treaty of Amsterdam, then replaced with Article 48 TEC contain some elements
that can lead to the achievement of a definition of worker: his activity is confined to filling
a job, the existence of a reward for hard work as well as elimination of any discrimination
based on nationality between workers of the Member States
43
. These basic elements were
preserved, with two changes, also in the Treaty of Lisbon
44
, which produces its effects
beginning with 1 December 2009, in Title IV, Free Movement of Persons, Services and
Capital, Chapter 1 Workers, art. 45
45
(ex art. 39 TEC), art. 46 (ex art. 40 TEC), art. 47 (ex
art. 41 TEC) and art. 48 (ex art. 42 TEC).
We must emphasize that in the sphere of Article 45 (ex. art. 39 TEC) falls also
people looking for a job, the types of restrictions that states may legitimately require to

42
Cl.-A. (Moarc) Costea, Drepturile sociale ale lucrtorilor migrani, CH Beck Publishing House,
Bucharest, 2011, p. 1
43
A. Popescu, Drept internaional i european al muncii, 2
nd
edition, C.H. Beck Publishing House, Bucharest,
2008, p. 379
44
Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European
Community.
45
Art. 45 (ex. art. 39 TEC): 1. Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union. 2. Such
freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of
the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment. 3. It
shall entail the right, subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public
health: (a) to accept offers of employment actually made; (b) to move freely within the territory of Member
States for this purpose; (c) to stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the
provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative
action; (d) to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State, subject to
conditions which shall be embodied in regulations to be drawn up by the Commission. 4. The provisions of
this Article shall not apply to employment in the public service. Consolidated versions of the Treaty on
European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, see http://register.consilium.
europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st06/st06655-re07.en08.pdf, accessed at October 5, 2012.
36
employees and their families and the rights they enjoy under the Community
46
. In this
category also enter the persons with independent activities
47
.
The term of worker is, regardless the primary sources of the EU law, much better
highlighted by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In
fact this approach made by the CJEU was a quite practical one to eliminate the possibility
of states to limit the application of the free movement of persons. In the CJEU vision, the
name of worker is a matter of EU law and not of national law
48
. In the same spirit, the
Court pronounced also in the Case 66/85 Deborah Lawrie-Blum v Land
Baden-Wrttemberg, who stated that the notion of worker must be defined according to
EU law, and not the national law.
Moreover, the CJEU interpreted in a very loose way freedom of movement and
the category of worker
49
, so this category includes any person who meets service activities
that are real and genuine, to the exclusion of insignificant activities that could be
considered marginal and accessories
50
. In Case 196/87
51
Udo Steymann v Staatsecretaris
van Justitie, the Court pronounced for considering labour as a real economic activity,
although lacking conventional remuneration.
In support of the above, the Article 45 of the Lisbon Treaty takes effect on those
who are seeking a job. This problem was resolved by the CJEU in Case Antonissen, which
established that those who seek employment do not have a fully employed status but still
fit in Article 39 TEC
52
.
The frontier worker enters the general category of workers in the European Union,
who due a unique specific has a particular situation. In terms of terminology, the EU
framework legislation uses the frontier worker formula, but we find, in studies, reports or
other documents of the EU institutions and other institutions and organizations, the term
cross-border worker
53
.
For in the Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71
54
and Regulation (EC) No
883/2004
55
, which is the framework law, it is used the term frontier worker, we consider
this term should be used, and not others.

46
P. Craig, G. Burca, Dreptul Uniunii Europene, Comentarii, jurispruden i doctrin, 4
th
edition, Hamangiu
Publishing House, Bucharest, 2009, p. 924
47
T. tefan, Introducere n dreptul comunitar. Text i jurispruden, INM, Bucharest, 2006, p. 136
48
Case 75/63, Mrs M.K.H. Hoekstra (ne Unger) v Bestuur der Bedrijfsvereniging voor Detailhandel en
Ambachten (Administration of the Industrial Board for Retail Trades and Businesses) - Reference for a
preliminary ruling: Centrale Raad van Beroep Netherlands, see http://eurlex.europa.eu/Lex
UriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61963J0075:EN:HTML, accessed at October 3, 2012.
49
Case 337/97, C.P.M. Meeusen v Hoofddirectie van de Informatie Beheer Groep, see http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:61997CJ0337:EN:PDF, accessed at October 3, 2012
50
P. Craig, G. Burca, op. cit., p. 930.
51
Case 196/87 Udo Steymann v Staatssecretaris van Justitie,http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUri
Serv.do?uri=CELEX:61987J0196:EN:HTML, accessed at October 3, 2012
52
P. Craig, G. Burca, op. cit., p. 940
53
e.g. European Commission, http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/personal_tax/crossborder_
workers/index_en.htm, accessed at February 21, 2013
54
Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to
employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community.
Until now, the Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71 has been amended by: Council Regulation (EC) No
1223/98 of 4 June 1998 L 168/13.6.1998; Council Regulation (EC) No 1606/98 of 29 June 1998
L209/25.7.1998; Council Regulation (EC) No 307/1999 of 8 February 1999 L 38/12.2.1999; Council
Regulation (EC) No 1399/1999 of 29 April 1999 L164/30.6.1999; Regulation (EC) No 1386/2001 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2001 L187/10.7.2001; Regulation (EC) No 631/2004 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 L100/6.4.2004; Regulation (EC) No 647/2005 of
37
Although in this paper we analyse how the frontier worker legislation is
transposed in Romania and Hungary, and the framework law is Regulation (EC) No
883/2004, we cannot avoid that the Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71 is in force, even
if it has a low applicability rate
56
, based on article 90 din Regulation (EC) No 883/2004
modified by Regulation (EC) No 988/2009.

A) Frontier worker in the Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71
By frontier worker it is understood any employed or self-employed person who
pursues his occupation in the territory of a Member State and resides in the territory of
another Member State to which he returns as a rule daily or at least once a week; however,
a frontier worker who is posted elsewhere in the territory of the same or another Member
State by the undertaking to which he is normally attached, or who engages in the provision
of services elsewhere in the territory of the same or another Member State, shall retain the
status of frontier worker for a period not exceeding four month, even if he is prevented,
during that period, from returning daily or at least once a week to the place where he
resides
57
.
The placement of worker in worker category is determined by a triple
conditionality: - on the one hand he is employed or self-employed in a Member State of
EU; - has the residence in another Member State of EU other than the one he works in;
- returns, as a rule, daily or at least once a week at his residence.
Also based on Regulation (EC) no. 1408, art. 20, it was established as special
rules, that the frontier worker may obtain benefits in the territory of the competent State.
Such benefits shall be provided by the competent institution in accordance with the
provisions of the legislation of that State, as though the person concerned where resident
in that State. Regarding the responsibility for the cost of benefits provided for former
frontier workers, the Regulation (EC) no 1408 established this to be divided equally

the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2005 L117/4.5.2005; Regulation (EC) No 629/2006 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2006 L114/27.4.2006; Council Regulation (EC) No
1791/2006 of 20 November 2006 L363/20.12.2006; Regulation (EC) No 1992/2006 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 L 392/30.12.2006; Regulation (EC) No 592/2008 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008.
55
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the
coordination of social security systems (Text with relevance for the EEA and for Switzerland). Until now, the
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 has been amended by: Regulation (EC) No 988/2009 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 L284/30.10.2009; Commission Regulation (EU) No
1244/2010 of 9 December 2010 L338/22.12.2010; Regulation (EU) No 465/2012 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 22 May 2012 L149/8.6.2012.
56
(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 shall be repealed from the date of application of this Regulation.
However, Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 shall remain in force and shall continue to have legal effect for the
purposes of: (a) Council Regulation (EC) No 859/2003 of 14 May 2003 extending the provisions of
Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 to nationals of third countries who are not
already covered by those provisions solely on the ground of their nationality, for as long as that Regulation has
not been repealed or modified; (b) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1661/85 of 13 June 1985 laying down the
technical adaptations to the Community rules on social security for migrant workers with regard to Greenland,
for as long as that Regulation has not been repealed or modified; (c) the Agreement on the European
Economic Area and the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part,
and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, on the free movement of persons and other agreements which
contain a reference to Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, for as long as those agreements have not been modified
in the light of this Regulation, see http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:
2004R0883:20120628:EN:PDF, accessed at January 10, 2013.
57
Article 1 Definitions, letter b
38
between the institution of the pensioner's place of residence and that with which he was
last insured
58
. In 1996, this provision was sent to abolition by Council Regulation (EC) No
3096/95
59
. Also about benefits, based on art. 53, it is established that the frontier worker
may also obtain benefits in the territory of the competent state. Such benefits shall be
provided by the competent institution in accordance with the provisions of the legislation
of that State, as if the person concerned were residing there.
Relating to the unemployment situation, the Regulation (EC) no 1408 provides
two specific cases
60
to the frontier worker:
a) is partially or intermittently unemployed in the undertaking which employs him,
shall receive benefits in accordance with the provisions of the legislation of the
competent State as if he were residing in the territory of that State; these benefits
shall be provided by the competent institution;
b) is wholly unemployed shall receive benefits in accordance with the provisions of the
legislation of the Member State in whose territory he resides as though he had been
subject to that legislation while last employed; these benefits shall be provided by the
institution of the place of residence at its own expense;

B) Frontier worker in the Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.
This regulation was modified three times since its entry into force at April 20,
2004, the last change being made by Regulation (EU) no 465/2012 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012. The replacement of Regulation (EC) no
1408 cu Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 was determined by two aspects: the first, refers to
the many changes the Regulation (EC) no 1408 underwent; the second aspect, aims the
necessity to synchronize the legislation dedicated to coordination of social security
systems cu judgments of the EUCJ, but also changes in legislation at national level. At the
base of this change there are four principles: modernizing, improving protection of
citizens' rights, clarifying the provisions of the old regulation and simplification of
procedures
61
.
Regarding the legal concept of frontier worker, this Regulation does not affect the
changes from 1971, keeping the main identifiers: any person pursuing an activity as an
employed or self-employed person in a Member State and who resides in another Member
State to which he/she returns as a rule daily or at least once a week
62
.
In the case of retired frontier workers, regulation establishes a different treatment
than other types of workers, but also from frontier workers who are not retired because of
old-age or invalidity
63
. Thus, only in these two situations specified, the retired frontier
workers is entitled in the event of sickness to continue to receive benefits in kind in the
Member State where he/she last pursued his/her activity as an employed or self-employed

58
Article 32
59
Council Regulation (EC) No 3096/95 of 22 December 1995 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the
application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self- employed persons and to members of their
families moving within the Community and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 laying down the procedure for
implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71.
60
Article 71 (1), letter a)
61
Cl.-A. (Moarc) Costea, Instrumente de coordonare a sistemelor de securitate sociala, CH Beck Publishing
House, Bucharest, 2011, p. 128-129
62
Article 1 Definitions, letter f)
63
Article 28 Special rules for retired frontier workers was introduce by Regulation (EC) No 988/2009
39
person. The regulation clearly states that these benefits are a continuation of treatment
64

which began in the Member State where he acted. In the situation in which in the five
years preceding the effective date of an old-age or invalidity pension has been pursuing an
activity as an employed or self-employed person for at least two years as a frontier
worker, the pensioner can receive benefits in kind in the Member State in which he/she
pursued such an activity as a frontier worker. The retired frontier workers shall be shall be
entitled to benefits if only the Member State and the Member State in which the
competent institution responsible for the costs of the benefits in kind provided to the
pensioner in his/her Member State of residence is situated have opted for this and are both
listed in Annex V
65
of regulation.
Initially, the Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 did not stipulate the frontier workers
situation in case of wholly unemployed. This matter was covered by Regulation (EU) No
465/2012, in article 65a. Having a derogatory regime of article 65, it was agreed that the
wholly unemployed person who, as a frontier worker, has most recently completed periods
of insurance as a self-employed person or periods of self- employment recognized for the
purposes of granting unemployment benefits in a Member State other than his/her
Member State of residence can receive benefits. The condition that needs to be met is that
the Member State of residence has submitted notification that there is no possibility for
any category of self-employed persons to be covered by an unemployment benefits system
of that Member State.
Regarding the family members
66
of the frontier worker, the Regulation (EC) No
883/2004 contains the following provisions:
a) About the benefits in kind the members of the family of a frontier worker shall be
entitled to benefits in kind during their stay in the competent Member State
67
. There
are exceptional cases, in some cases limited
68
, when the competent Member State is
listed in Annex III
69
;
b) The members of the family of a frontier worker who has retired because of old-age
or invalidity can receive benefits which consist in continuation of treatment began in
the Member State
70
;

64
Continuation of treatment means the continued investigation, diagnosis and treatment of an illness for its
entire duration.
65
Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Austria and Portugal
66
Article 1 Definitions, letter i) member of the family means: 1. (i) any person defined or recognised as a
member of the family or designated as a member of the household by the legislation under which benefits are
provided; (ii) with regard to benefits in kind pursuant to Title III, Chapter 1 on sickness, maternity and
equivalent paternity benefits, any person defined or recognised as a member of the family or designated as a
member of the household by the legislation of the Member State in which he/she resides; 2. if the legislation
of a Member State which is applicable under subparagraph 1 does not make a distinction between the
members of the family and other persons to whom it is applicable, the spouse, minor children, and dependent
children who have reached the age of majority shall be considered members of the family; 3. if, under the
legislation which is applicable under subparagraphs 1 and 2, a person is considered a member of the family or
member of the household only if he/she lives in the same household as the insured person or pensioner, this
condition shall be considered satisfied if the person in question is mainly dependent on the insured person or
pensioner.
67
Article 18, paragraph 2, introduce in the Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 by Regulation (EC) No 988/2009
68
Until September 2013 for: Estonia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, and Netherlands.
69
Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom
70
Article 28, paragraph 1
40
c) The members of the family of a former frontier worker or his/her survivors can
receive benefits if they follow the conditions in article 28, paragraph 1 and article 18,
paragraph 2.
Even if we do not have legal provisions that refer directly to frontier workers, we
must remember that the Regulation (EU) no 492/2011 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 5 April 2011 regulates regarding the freedom of movement for workers
within the Union. In this text, the recital no. 5 provides these: Such right should be
enjoyed without discrimination by permanent, seasonal and frontier workers and by those
who pursue their activities for the purpose of providing services.

3. The frontier worker in Romanian legislation
Like all EU countries, Romania has rules for two types of workers: a) the
Romanians and their comparable (workers who have the EU citizenship, European
Economic Area
71
and Swiss); b) migrant workers from third countries.
The Constitution of Romania establishes in articles 40-43
72
main coordinates of
the Romanian labour legislation, which are consistent with the values promoted by the EU
and Council of Europe (CoE): - citizens may freely associate into political parties, trade
unions, employers' associations, and other forms of association; - the right to work shall
not be restricted. Everyone has a free choice of his/her profession, trade or occupation, as
well as work place; - all employees have the right to measures of social protection. These
concern employees' safety and health, working conditions for women and young people,
the setting up of a minimum gross salary per economy, weekends, paid rest leave, work
performed under difficult and special conditions, as well as other specific conditions, as
stipulated by the law; - the normal duration of a working day is of maximum eight hours,
on the average; - on equal work with men, women shall get equal wages; - forced labour is
prohibited. The constitutional provisions have been transposed into Law no. 53/2003,
republished in the Official Monitor, Part I, no 345 of 18 May 2011
73
, which is the legal
framework in this field
74
.
The general aspects from Romania regarding the labour conditions are not
different from those of the Member State of EU. Therefore, for full time employers the
normal duration of working time is of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
75
The legal
maxim duration of working time cannot overpass 48 hours per week, including
supplementary hours (with some exceptions)
76
. The work carried out outside the normal
duration of a weekly working time is considered supplementary work. Supplementary
work cannot be carried out without the agreement of the employee, except the special
situations or the urgent activities meant to prevent accidents or removing the

71
The European Economic Area (EEA) comprises the Member States of the European Union (EU), plus
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
72
Title II, Fundamental rights, freedoms and duties, article 40 - Right of association, article 41 - Labour and
social protection of labour, article 42 - Prohibition of forced labour, article 43 - Right to strike, see
http://www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?id=372&idl=2, accessed at January 10, 2013.
73
Republished under art V of Law no. 40/2011 for changing and amending of Law no. 53/2003 - Labour Code,
published in Romania's Official Monitor, Part I, no.225 of 31 March 2011, the texts being renumbered.
74
Lavinia Onica-Chipea, Regimul juridic al conflictelor individuale de munc, Universul Juridic Publishing
House, Bucharest, 2012, p. 67-68
75
Law no. 53/2003, republished, article 112 (1)
76
Ibidem, article 114 (1)
41
consequences of an accident. The activity from 22 to 6 is considered night work
77
. The
employees working at night are benefiting from either reduced working programme, either
of a wage benefit. For the activity carried out based on the individual labour contract, each
employee is entitled to a wage in cash. For establishing the wage is forbidden any
discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, genetics, age, nationality, race, colour,
ethnicity, religion, political option, social origin, handicap, family situation or
responsibility, union trade membership or activity.
Beginning with February 1, 2013 the minimum gross salary is 750 Lei per month
for a full-time program (168.6 hours per month, 4.44 Lei/hour). Of July 1, 2013 the
minimum gross salary guaranteed payment will be 800 Lei per month for a full program
(168.6 hours per month, 4.74 Lei/hour).
78

If for the EU, EEA, Swiss workers there are no rules except those applying to
Romanian workers, for workers who come from the other states, some restrictions are
being applied. The legal framework is Emergency Ordinance no. 56/2007 on the
employment and employment-related relocation of aliens on the territory of Romania and
Emergency Ordinance no 194/2002 on the status of aliens in Romania.
The types of work authorizations that can be granted to foreigners are as follows:
a) work authorization for permanent workers;
b) work authorization for detached workers;
c) work authorization for seasonal workers;
d) work authorization for trainees;
e) work authorization for sportsmen;
f) nominal work authorization;
g) work authorization for cross-border workers.
With a view to obtain the work authorization, a foreigner needs the following
documents, depending on the types of work authorizations:
a) curriculum vitae, containing also his/her declaration on own responsibility that has
no penal records, is capable of employment from a medical point of view and has
minimum command of the Romanian language;
b) copies of study documents in order to be employed in the function or in the job for
which he/she requires employment, translated in Romanian and legalized by a public
notary, diplomas, certificates and scientific titles obtained in the education system
abroad shall be accompanied by the recognition document from the Ministry of
Education, Research, Youth and Sports;
c) copies of documents which certify the vocational training acquired outside the
education system or, as the case may be, which attests the occupational experience,
translated and over-legalized in the terms set by law;
d) copy of the valid cross-border document;
e) the request to obtain the work permit;
f) the valid cross-border document on which shall be applied the long stay visa for
employment;
g) the legal record certificate or domicile country attesting that he/she has no penal
antecedents;

77
Ibidem, article 125 (1)
78
Government Decision no. 23/2013 to determine the minimum gross salary guaranteed payment, article 1
42
h) the medical act attesting the health state, issued by the competent medical
institutions, according to the legal provisions, indicating that the foreigner is capable
of being employed;
i) two photos type 3/4;
j) the medical certificate and the updated fiscal attestation, if between the registration
date of the application for obtaining the favourable notification and the registration
date of the application for obtaining the work permit more than 60 days have passed.
The legal procedure regulated for the frontier worker is established in Emergency
Ordinance no 56/2007 on the employment and employment-related relocation of aliens on
the territory of Romania
79
. The Romanian legislation uses the term of cross border worker,
which means alien employed in border regions on the territory of Romania who returns
daily or at least once in a week to the border region of a country having a common border
to Romania where the alien, citizen of that country, resides
80
. The work authorization for
cross-border workers enables the holder to be employed on the basis of an individual work
contract for a maximum of 12 months, with extension possibility for subsequent 12 month
intervals, by a single individual or judicial person from Romania or a representative
office, branch or regional office based in Romania of a judicial person with headquarters
abroad
81
.
In order to obtain an employment authorisation for permanent workers, the
employer, a judicial person in Romania or a representative office, branch or regional
office of a judicial person with headquarters abroad, will submit to the National
Immigration Office a request justifying the need to employ the alien, together with
following supporting documents
82
: a) document attesting the setting up of the company or
document attesting the registration as a judicial person, as well as the registration
certificate issued by the Commercial Register, in original and copy; b) certificate issued
by the Commercial Register acknowleding the fact that there has been no request for
mention of the existence of a final court decision against the single partner or the partners
for infringement of law, with regard to the activity they carry out or to declaration of
bankruptcy; c) letter attesting the solvency of the employer, issued by the bank where the
employer has its account; d) attest issued by the tax authority of the district where the
employer has its registered headquarters, proving the regular disbursement of obligations
towards the state budget; e) copy of the protocol drafted as a result of the selection process
for filling the vacancies; g) curriculum vitae of the alien, which should contain a statement
that the alien is free of convictions, that his health status corresponds to the employment
requirements and that he possesses a minimum of Romanian language knowledge; g) copy
of the proof of qualification according to the requirements of the position or profession for
which an employment authorisation is requested, translated and super legalised according
to the law, diplomas, certificates and scientific titles issued abroad within the education
system, alongside with the certification of recognition issued by the Ministry of
Education, Research, Youth and Sports, under the provisions of relevant legislation; h)
copies of documents attesting professional qualification obtained outside the education
system or, if the case, proof of professional experience, translated and super legalised in

79
Amended by: Law no 134/2008 published in Romania's Official Monitor, Part I no 522 of 10/07/2008; Law
no 157/2011 published in Romania's Official Monitor, Part I no 533 of 28/07/2011.
80
Article 2, letter f)
81
Article 6, paragraph (1), letter g)
82
Article 13, paragraph (1)
43
conformity with legal provisions; i) copy of the aliens valid travel document and, by case,
copy of the permit to reside in Romania; j) two photographs of the alien, type 3/4.
According to data provided by The General Inspectorate for Immigration, on June
30, 2012 in Romania there were registered 57,259 foreigners legally residing, 46,674 were
with temporary residence and 10,585 with permanent residency. In terms of the purpose
for which foreigners have obtained a right of temporary residence, most of them were
family members of Romanian citizens (20,581), for studies (9,419) and employment
(5,278). In terms of countries of origin, most foreigners with temporary residence are from
Moldova (13,764), Turkey (6,849) and China (3,943). Regarding the foreigners with
permanent residence, the most are from China (2,822), Turkey (2,231) and Syria (990)
83
.
In 2011, of the 5,500 labour authorizations approved
84
there were issued a total of
2,673 work authorization
85
to foreign citizens, of which 1,872 were granted for permanent
workers (36 for strangers studying in Romania and have a right to work and 5 for family
reunion), 612 were granted for posted workers and 148 for athletes.
For 2012 it was established a number of 5,500 work permits
86
for foreigners
wishing for employment or work to perform in Romania based on an employer's decision
to post foreign entity. This number was established for each type of license, as follows:
work authorization for permanent workers 2,300; work authorization for detached
workers 1,400; work authorization for higher qualification workers 1,000; work
authorization for seasonal workers - 100; nominal work authorization - 100; work
authorization for trainees - 200; work authorization for sportsmen - 300; work
authorization for cross-border workers - 100. Until October 31, 2012, were issued a total
of 2,454 work permits
87
, of which 1,488 for permanent workers (19 for foreigners who are
studying in Romania and are allowed to work by law and 4 for family reunification), 658
to workers posted, 190 for athletes and 1 for cross-border workers. For 2013 were set a
total of 5,500 work permits
88
, divided as follows: work authorization for permanent
workers 3,000; work authorization for detached workers 900; work authorization for
higher qualification workers 800; work authorization for seasonal workers 100;
nominal work authorization 100; work authorization for trainees 200; work
authorization for sportsmen 300; work authorization for cross-border workers 100.

4. The frontier worker in Hungarian legislation
As we mentioned in the section dedicated to the worker in the European Union,
the legislation governing labour relations between employers and employees from a E.U.
state are those applying also to Hungarians. Consequently, the legal framework governing
labour relations and employee rights arising from this is the Labour Code.

83
Statistical Bulletin in Immigration and Asylum Field, p.8, http://ori.mai.gov.ro/detalii/pagina/ro/Statistici-si-
publicatii/147, accessed at January 8, 2013
84
Government Decision no. 1345/2010 determining the number of work authorization in 2011
85
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, http://www.mmuncii.ro/nou/images/Documente/
Proiecte_in_dezbatere/2012-11-29/nota%20fundamentare%20hg%20autorizatii%20munca%202013.pdf,
86
Government Decision no 1261/2011 determining the number of work authorization in 2012
87
Ibidem
88
Government Decision no. 1253/2010 determining the number of work authorization in 2013
44
We shall state that the Fundamental Law of Hungary, which was adopted in April
25, 2011 and entries into force at January 1, 2012, mentions some fundamental aspects for
labour relations. In this respect we mention
89
:
- Article XV provides for equality before the law and freedom from discrimination for
the grounds cited;
- Article XVI provides for the rights and responsibilities of children and parents;
- Article XVII sets out the rights and responsibilities of employees and workers as
follows: (1) Employees and employers shall cooperate with each other in order to
ensure jobs, make the national economy sustainable and for other community goals;
(2) Employees, employers and their representative bodies shall have a statutory right
to bargain and conclude collective agreements, and to take any joint action or hold
strikes in defence of their interests; (3) Every employee shall have the right to
working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity; (4) Every
employee shall have the right to daily and weekly rest times and annual paid leave;
- Article XVIII prohibits the employment of children and protection of young persons;
- Article XIX provides for the right to social security;
- Article 25 provides that special courts will be established for resolution of labour
disputes;
Given the necessity to synchronize the national legislation with European
standards, Hungary has changed the legal framework. Unlike the previous Code
90
, article
5, line 1 of the new labour code, adopted by the Parliament on 13 December 2011 and
which is into force from 1 July 2012, specifies that its provisions shall be interpreted in
accordance with the legislation of Hungary and the European Union
91
.
Some changes from the old labour code are as follows
92
:
- increased the period of probation to three months, which makes it possible for
employers to dismiss new employees during a longer period of time without any
explanation;
- allows for the dismissal of an employee during the period of sick leave, which is
contrary to the old regulation;
- makes it cheaper to terminate employment for employers by stipulating that the lump
sum shall be determined based on basic salary and not based on average income;
- raises the statutory limit of maximum overtime hours from 200 to 250 per calendar
year;
- collective agreement could further raise the annual overtime sum to 300 hours per
calendar year;
- allows employers to change the working time regime with notification of just four
days, while the earlier regulation stipulated a notification period of seven days.
Hungarian labour law which concerns the frontier worker establishes that all
citizens of EU, EEA and Swiss do not require a work permit (munkavallalsi engedly).
The employer must register its EU/EEA/Swiss employee at the local employment

89
Fundamental Law of Hungary,http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/89887/103371/F21282
15867/HUN89887%20Eng.pdf, accessed at December 12, 2012
90
Al. Athanasiu, O. Cazan, Piaa muncii, ntre eficien economic i echitate social, Bucharest, 2012, p.
272-292, source: http://ftp.bns.ro/observator/eficienta_echitate.pdf, accessed at November 15, 2012
91
Article 3 Interpretation principles, section 5
92
Andrs Tth, The New Hungarian Labour Code - Background, Conflicts, Compromises, Friedrich Ebert
Foundation Budapest, June 2012, http://www.fesbp.hu/common/pdf/Nachrichten_aus_Ungarn_june_2012.pdf,
45
authority, part of national employment authority (Nemzeti Foglalkoztatsi Szolglat-
National Employment Service) not later than the first day of work. Third country nationals
must obtain a work permit before the start of employment in Hungary. An individual work
permit, for which the employee must apply, can be granted for a maximum of two years
and may be renewed an unlimited number of times. There are additional exceptions from
the work permit requirement (munkavllalsi engedly) for: executive employees and
academic employees. Employers can recruit third country nationals if they have advertised
for specific positions, but they were not able to fill their vacancies with Hungarian
employees within the given time frame
93
.
Thus we have the following categories of employees in the Hungarian law:
a) Without a license (nationals of Member States of the EU, EEA, Swiss, citizens of
countries that have signed a special agreement with Hungary);
b) With temporary / seasonal license (husband / wife or widow / widower of a
Hungarian citizen and foreign who are more than a year in Hungary, foreign workers
in agriculture with a contract not exceeding 60 days);
c) Posting.
About the taxes, people who live more than 183 days in Hungary pay taxes on
income accumulated at a total level. They are recorded as paying taxes and will require a
tax identification number, after which the local authority will issue a tax card. If a person
lives less than 183 days in the taxable Hungary will be only the salary income
94
. To avoid
double taxation, Hungary has signed numerous agreements, including one with Romania
95

signed at 16 September 1993 and entries into force in Romania and Hungary
96
on 1
January 1996.
Terms of payroll, taxes, contributions in Hungary in 2013
97
:
1. Wages, salaries
Monthly
wage
HUF/month
Weekly
wage
HUF/week
Daily
wage
HUF/day
Hourly
wage
HUF/hour
Minimum wage 98,000 22,560 4,510 564
Guaranteed minimum wage 114,000 26,250 5,250 656
Public work wage 75,500 17,385 3,475 -
Guaranteed public work wage 96,800 22,275 4,455 -
Civil servants base salary 38,650 HUF
Public employees salary allowance calculation base 20,000 HUF
Lowest basic salary of judges and prosecutors - First salary grade 391,600 HUF
Legal assistants hourly rate, hourly rate of lawyers 3,000 HUF /hour
The lowest amount of foster parents allowance - per child and young adult 15,000 HUF /month
The lowest amount of professional foster parents allowance 135,000 HUF /month

2. Stated pensions and retirement benefits after 31
st
of December, 2011
The minimum amount of old-age pension 28,500 HUF
The minimum amount of orphans allowances 24,250 HUF
Own pensions and widows' pensions combine paying amount limit 81,510 HUF

93
L. Kenyeres, B. Buzsi, P. Gndcz and T. Kiss, F. W. Theiss, Labour and Employee Benefits: Hungary,
source: http://crossborder.practicallaw.com/1-503-3716#top, accessed at December 20, 2012
94
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/cross-border-worker/taxes/hungary/employed_en.htm, accessed at
January 10, 2013
95
Law no. 91, 26 October 1994
96
Law XCIX, 1996
97
Hungary National Employment Service, source: http://en.munka.hu/engine.aspx?page=en_statistics,
accessed at February 20, 2013
46
The minimum amount of rehabilitation allowance: 30% of the minimum wage 29,400 HUF
The minimum amount of disability allowance: 30% of the minimum wage 29,400 HUF

3. Support for jobseekers, income supplement
Amount
Jobseeker's allowance
(disbursement period up to 90 days
60% of the labour market contribution base, up to 100% of the
applicable minimum wage on the first day of the eligibility:
98,000 HUF/month; 3,267 HUF/day
Pre-retirement job seeker assistance 40% of the minimum wage: 39,200 HUF; 1,307 HUF/day
Income supplement 45,300 HUF /month 75,500 HUF /month
Only in the case of participating at intensive (20 hours a week)
training so-called recommended or accepted trainings offered by
local labour office.

4. Employers' contribution
Social contribution tax 27% of tax base
Rehabilitation contribution 964,500 HUF/person/year
(according to the absence of mandatory employment
level)
Vocational training contribution 1,5% of the vocational training contribution tax base
(which is equal to the social contribution tax base of
employer)

5. Employees' contribution
Employee individual
contributions and private
pension fund membership
fee
obligation
Pension contribution 10%
Health insurance
and labour market
contribution
Health insurance contributions in kind 4%
Financial health insurance contributions 3%
Labour market contribution 1,5%
Amount 8,5%
In total 18,5%

6. Financial social security benefits and family allowance
Maternity benefits 70% of the daily average wage by calendar
Child care fee 70% of the daily average wage by calendar, but not more than twice the minimum
wages 70% per month: 137 200 HUF
Sick pay 60% of the daily average wage (at least 2 years continuous insurance period)
50% of the daily average wage (for less than 2 years of insurance or medical in-
patient care)
The sick pay for a day does not exceed 200 per cent of the minimum wage by 30
gives part (on the starting date for eligibility)
Family allowance
For family with a child 12 200 HUF/month
For single parent with a child 13 700 HUF/month
For family with two children per child 13 300 HUF/month
For single parent with two children per child 14 800 HUF/month
For family with three or more children per child 16 000 HUF/month
For single parent with three or more children per child 17 000 HUF/month
For family with chronically ill or severely disabled child per child 23 300
HUF/month
For single parent with chronically ill or severely disabled child per child 25 900
HUF/month
For adult handicapped people 20 300 HUF/month
Maternity allowance 225 % of the minimum old age pension: 64 125 HUF
300% for twins: 85 500 HUF
The support request within 6 months after birth, if the mother involved in pregnancy
care at least four times - once for preterm labour
47
Child care benefit 100% of the minimum old age pension: 28 500 HUF/month
200% for twins (57 000 HUF/month), 300% for triplets (85 500HUF/month),
400% for quadruplet (114 000 HUF/month), 500% for quintuplet (142 500
HUF/month), 600% for six twins (171 000 HUF/month)
Benefit is available to children 3 years of age, twins, the end of the year to become
pupil, chronically ill or disabled children up to the age of 10 years.
Childcare benefit 100 % of the minimum old age pension: 28 500 HUF/month
For parents with 3 or more children, and the youngest between 3 and 8 age

5. Final remarks
In this study we aimed to show how EU legislation defines the frontier worker and
how two states, Romania and Hungary agreed to transpose the EU rules into the national
legislation. The general observation that can be made is that both countries have created a
coherent regulatory environment, permissive and perhaps too bureaucratic, creating
general prerequisites for the development of a labour market frontier.
Yet the real question is how the labour market is developing in border regions.
The legal framework is necessary but not sufficient in the proper development of the
labour market in the border region. The frontier worker acts as integrator in the border
space if this category of workers is sufficiently well developed and not just anemic. In the
Romanian-Hungarian border space, the labour market is not well developed, but neither
known nor supported by the authorities. The statistical data regarding the number of
frontier workers in this region are difficult to find and often out of date. At the conference
Free movement of European workers Hungarian and Romanian experiences
98

organized by the University of Szeged, Faculty of Law and European Studies, and the
Europe Direct Centre at Szeged in April 27-28, 2011, it was presented the general
situation of the labour force at the Romanian-Hungarian border. Thus, the total workforce
from Romania to Hungary 85-90% of the workers had completed secondary and high
school, the rest being represented by workers with vocational training or higher education.
From this second category the most popular occupations are: baker, butcher, nurse, doctor
or biologist. The labour migration from Hungary to Romania is very poorly represented,
as the Hungarian frontier workers destinations are in Austria. The explanation for this lack
of interest is not very difficult to identify and consisted of poor remuneration of labour,
lack of good transport infrastructure and poor working conditions.
Why do we have this situation Romanian-Hungarian border?
The relevant answer can be given only after an analysis on different levels:
legislative, economic, social and administrative. About the European and national labour
legislation we saw that there is a normative framework that allows the development of this
type of labour migration. How this form of work is promoted in the social, economic or
institutional administrative developed by Romania and Hungary to the border between
them? Without attempting an answer, we believe it is alarming the precarious
development of the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) in this border
area
99
. This border cooperation instrument designed by the EU just for a harmonious
development of border areas may be one of the solutions required by the labour market. A
better and consistent implementation of public policies with frontier specific in the
Romanian-Hungarian border space will result in raising the economic environment which

98
Conference program, source: http://www2.u-szeged.hu/etk/ed/letolt/2011/Program_fuzet.pdf, accessed at
January 10, 2013
99
There is one EGTC Banat Triplex Confinium (limited liability), http://www.btc-egtc.eu/en/introduction.
48
will understand that one of the solutions is the growth frontier workers. Maybe,
eventually, this aspect will be understood, aspect which it seems the EU has already
understood: The increase of cross-border mobility has been identified by the European
institutions as well as by the OECD as being one of the strongest triggering factors for
succeeding in the Europe 2020 Strategy. However, cross-border labour mobility is not
sufficiently addressed at EU level which is why the CoR has decided to draft an
own-initiative opinion aiming both to take stock of the current situation and to present a
forward-looking action plan to address remaining challenges
100
.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Athanasiu, Al.; Cazan, O., Piaa muncii, ntre eficien economic i echitate social,
Bucharest, 2012;
Craig P.; Burca, G., Dreptul Uniunii Europene, Comentarii, jurispruden i doctrin, 4
th
edition, Hamangiu Publishing House, Bucharest, 2009;
Costea (Moarc), Cl.-A., Drepturile sociale ale lucrtorilor migrani, CH Beck
Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011;
Idem, Instrumente de coordonare a sistemelor de securitate sociala, CH Beck Publishing
House, Bucharest, 2011;
Kenyeres, L.; Buzsi B.; Gndcz, P.; Kiss, T.; Theiss, F. W., Labour and Employee
Benefits: Hungary, http://crossborder.practicallaw.com/1-503-3716#top;
Onica-Chipea, L., Regimul juridic al conflictelor individuale de munc, Universul Juridic
Popescu, A., Drept internaional i european al muncii, 2
nd
edition, C.H. Beck Publishing
tefan, T., Introducere n dreptul comunitar. Text i jurispruden, INM, Bucharest, 2006
Tth A., The New Hungarian Labour Code - Background, Conflicts, Compromises,
Friedrich Ebert Foundation Budapest, June 2012.

Public documents:
***, Hungary Romania Cross-border Co-operation Program 2007- 2013;
Eurostat, Regions in the European Union, Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics,
NUTS 2006 /EU-27;
Government of the Republic of Hungary, The North Great Plain Operational Program
2007-2013;
Regional Development Agency West, Sustenabilitatea motor al dezvoltarii n Regiunea
Vest, November 2012

Statistics:
Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Population, vital statistics 2012;
Idem, Economic activity of population aged 1564 by sex 2011;
Idem, Employed persons by industry and sex 2011;
Idem, Average gross monthly earnings of employees in the national economy 2012;
Idem, Resident population by sex 2012;

100
Frontier workers: Assessment of the situation after twenty years of the Internal Market: Problems and
Perspectives, http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/commissions/ecos/work-in-progress/Pages/frontier-workers
.aspx, accessed at February 20, 2013
49
Idem, Resident population by age-group 2012;
Idem, Number of employed persons 2012;
Idem, Number of unemployed persons 2012;
Idem, Employed persons by industries;
Idem, Average monthly gross earnings of employees 2010;
National Immigration Office, Statistical Bulletin in Immigration and Asylum Field
2012;
Romanian National Institute of Statistics, Statistical yearbook 2011, Geography,
Meteorology and Environment;
Idem, Monthly Statistical Bulletin 11/2012;

Legislations:
Constitution of Romania;
Fundamental Law of Hungary;
Treaty of Lisbon;
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1244/2010;
Council Regulation (EC) No 3096/95;
Council Regulation (EC) no 1408/71;
Regulation (EU) No 465/2012;
Regulation (EC) No 988/2009;
Regulation (EC) No 883/2004;

Case-law:
Case 337/97, C.P.M. Meeusen v Hoofddirectie van de Informatie Beheer Groep;
Case 196/87 Udo Steymann v Staatssecretaris van Justitie;
Case 75/63, Mrs M.K.H. Hoekstra (ne Unger) v Bestuur der Bedrijfsvereniging voor
Detailhandel en Ambachten (Administration of the Industrial Board for Retail Trades
and Businesses);

Other sources:
EGTC Banat Triplex Confinium (limited liability);
EURES, The European Job Mobility Portal;
Hungary National Employment Service;
Romania, Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection;
Romania, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration;
North-West Regional Development Agency (RDA).

I. BORDER REGION AS A SPACE OF INNOVATION

THE ECONOMIC BORDERS IN
THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION

Luminia OPRONI

Abstract: The importance of the economic borders of the nations is diminishing
continuously, and this phenomenon is strongly linked to regionalization and globalization.
We consider that the starting point of the idea that economic borders (represented by
nations commercial policies) are irrelevant for the global economic activity is in fact
Adam Smith theory about the liberty of choice and exchange in the international trade. In
order to adapt to the new globalization context, the borders have acquired a dynamic
meaning, exceeding its condition of a past world, little interconnected.

Keywords: borders, trade, economic integration, world economy

Economic frontier represents (in the simplest way) the demarcation between two
markets, between two spaces defined by their particular economic policies. The economic
space delimited by thefrontier is characterized by relationships that are established
between economic actors and between them and the state institutions that make and
enforce economic regulations that govern society.
The concept of economic frontier has become far more complex, so that in this
paper we shall analyze the border from various perspectives:
as a set of measures of commercial policy of a state which regulates foreign trade;
as a reflection of the degree of economic integration of countries/regions;
as a context for redefining the role of the state in economy.
Depending on the perspective from which it is regarded, the economic frontiers
are different. In Europe, for example, if we consider the means of individual consumption,
the national legislations, the bilateral or multilateral agreements, we discover new sector

Associate professor, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of
Oradea, Romania, e-mail: lsoproni@uoradea.ro
Luminia OPRONI

54
frontiers: legal, administrative, commercial, monetary, fiscal or budgetary that are
recomposing or diluting
1
.

The border and the trade policy measures
The trade policy of a state is an important component of the economic policy and
it influences the way in which the economic borders of that country are defined and
developed. This is seen clearly through the roles it has: promotion of external economic
relations, protection of the national economy from foreign competition, balancing the
commercial balance and the balance of payment, as well as the increase of the states
currency reserves
2
.
The commercial policy uses three main instruments
3
:
Taxation (at the customs), through which a states customs policy is established. The
policy uses customs duties and other laws and regulations whose declared purpose is
the attraction of income towards the states budget. Moreover, the customs policy has
protected throughout time the internal market from foreign competition, using the
instruments it had as a means of negotiation in order to attain tariff reduction or to
institute discriminating measures in relation to other states;
Non-tariff instruments, which hinder or limit the international flow of goods, being
politically or economically motivated. The declared purpose of these measures is to
protect the internal market from foreign competition and to stabilize the balance of
payment. The main forms of this instrument are: import quota, import license,
agreements regarding the organized flow of negotiated license goods, import take-off
tax, minimum and maximum prices for imports, indirect tax and fiscal tax, technical
barriers (sanitary, security, wrapping, marking and labeling standards, etc.);
Export promotion and stimulation instruments, which include the regulations used by
the state and by companies in order to enhance the world-wide trade of that
country commerce and navigation treaties, commercial and payment agreements,
international economic cooperation agreements, direct and indirect export subsidies,
fiscal facilities for export, export credits, etc.
Therefore, the economic borders between states (defined by the totality of
commercial policy of a country) have had strong fundaments throughout the time to exist
and to develop. The nation-states have wanted to protect their interests, and their
economies, and have used the instruments used by the commercial policy to do so. Thus
came along the protectionism and the idea of a closed economy, which have increased the
power and meaning of the economic borders.
According to Milton Friedman (head representative of the neo-liberalism), Adam
Smiths The Wealth of the Nations was one of the first hits in the war lead against
commercial restrictions in the relations between states so a firm signal regarding the
diminishing role of the economic borders. The British economist David Ricardo
subsequently brought, through the theory of the comparative advantage, additional
arguments in favor of free trade and the ability of international trade to create economic
development for all its participants. However, despite the fact that the majority of
economists admit the free international economic trade is beneficial for both the

1
Rmi Colliat, Fabien Labondance, Europanisation des frontires conomiques: le cas franco-allemand in
Trajectoires, 2 /2008 (Frontires en question), http://trajectoires.revues.org/196#ftn7
2
Nicolae Sut, Comer internaional i politici comerciale contemporane, ALL, Bucureti, 1995, p. 71
3
Ibidem, p. 72-103
The Economic Borders in the Age of Globalization
55
participating states and the global economy as a whole, throughout the time, tariffs have
been a rule. The only relevant exceptions, in Friedmans opinion, that have had a true free
trade were Great Britain, during the century after the abolition of the Corn Laws in
1846, Japan 30 years after the Meiji restoration and Hong Kongs trade
4
.
Starting with Ricardos theory, liberal economists have been able to state that the
elimination of barriers to commercial trade is beneficial for everybody, since it leads to an
increase of wealth, both individually and globally. Such belief was the center of the liberal
thinking throughout the 20
th
century, laying the bases of the modern commercial system
5

and of the progressive decrease of the economic borders relevance as seen from the
perspective of international trade.
The multitude of measures and instruments that governments had at their disposal
throughout the time to protect their internal markets and thus securing their economic
boundaries have made the creation of an international organization that governs and
promotes free trade between states imperious. In 1948, the General Agreement for Tariff
and Trade (GATT) was created which was a negotiation frame through which the
participant states have established a common international commercial framework for the
first time. The negotiation rounds within GATT favored the leveling of international trade
through the reduction or elimination of customs tariffs or non-tariff obstacles. In 1995,
after the Uruguay round, GATT became World Trade Organization (WTO), the only
international organization that defines commercial barriers, global trade and economic
activity, thus favoring free trade and commercial cooperation elements that lead to the
diminishing of economic boundaries role and strength.
The WTO's mission statement contains its guiding principles, which are the
pursuit of open borders, the guarantee of most-favoured-nation principle and non-
discriminatory treatment by and among members, and a commitment to transparency in
the conduct of its activities
6
.
It can be stated that WTO, as a leader of globalization, has greatly contributed to
the reduction of the importance of economic borders at a global level, as it has never
really abolished commercial barriers, but it leveled them in a global setting in order to
create a uniform field for all member states
7
. The consequences of the increase in
economic freedom were and are visible: goods and services global trade has increased
faster than production, the increase in the volume of international trade has outnumbered
the increase of global production, cross - border transactions have increased greatly.
However, the dissolution of the economic border through negotiations within the WTO is
questionable, as there are many voices that state that the reduction of protectionist barriers
was often done to serve the purposes of developed states. The USA and Europe are
accused that in fact, they have negotiated agreements that protect them against imports
from developing countries and that they want markets to be open only for those goods for
which they have a comparative advantage. Therefore, some believe that even the era of
multilateral liberalization of trade is coming to an end, due to the disappointment of
developing countries
8
. Wealth for the global market is seen as a nave illusion and free

4
Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman, Libertatea de a alege, Publica, Bucharest, 2009, p. 65-72
5
Gabriela Drgan, Fundamentele comerului internaional, Biblioteca digital ASE, Bucharest,
http://www.biblioteca-digitala.ase.ro/biblioteca/pagina2.asp?id=cap1
6
World Trade Organization, About the WTO a statement by the Director-General, WTO website,
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/wto_dg_stat_e.htm
7
Joshua Goldstein, Jon C. Pevehouse,Relaii Internaionale, Polirom, Iai, 2008, p. 427
8
Joseph E.Stiglitz, Mecanismele globalizrii, Polirom, Iai,2008, p. 77-79
Luminia OPRONI

56
trade is just rule of law of the stronger ones
9
. However, even if liberalization of trade
implies by definition the elimination of barriers and the creation of an even field for
economic development on the world market, protectionist barriers are still kept, the
traditional ones, as well as other non-tariff forms, such as technical barriers, antidumping
taxes and financial protection measures.
Besides the multilateral agreements referring to global trade, there are other trends
that need to be mentioned, trends of transforming unbreakable economic barriers into
reachable connection guidelines between states. These take the form of regional
agreements (bilateral agreements, free trade areas, customs union and common market).
Bilateral agreements are the simplest form of mutual arrangement for the reduction of
commercial barriers with the purpose of economic cooperation. Free trade areas are
arrangements between groups of states that foresee a total elimination of commercial
barriers from their region, therefore increasing their regions power. Customs union, as a
main form of extension of customs territory, implies the elimination of tariff and non-tariff
barriers in the commercial relations between member states and the adoption of a common
customs tariff in relation to other states. The common market is a customs union where all
restrictions concerning free movement of people, goods, services and capital are
abandoned.
According to WTO, over 200 regional commercial agreements were notified,
customs unions, free trade areas of other types or preferential agreements, and over 150
are effective today. The structure of these agreements is very complex and many countries
are nowadays part of several such agreements. Most such agreements are between
developed states, especially the European ones (60%), while developing countries have a
smaller share (15%). The rest are agreements that involve both types of states
10
.
The effects of regional agreements on the liberalization of commercial trade and
the economic increase (and the way in which they contribute to the elimination of
economic borders) are not very clear, and the opinions of experts regarding their economic
impact are often quite contradictory
11
.

The economic border and the binom integration - division
The way in which economic borders are currently redefined largely depends of the
perspective in which globalization is analyzed. If we were to represent the relation
between borders and globalization on an ax, on one end we would find the world with a
fully integrated global economy, without economic borders, and on the opposite end we
would find the international economy there still there are economic relations between
nations, and the degree of economic integration is small and the economic borders
maintain their important roles, especially within the relations between the wealthy North
and the poor South.
In specialty literature there are several different perspectives of globalization. The
first of these sees globalization as the fulfillment of the principles of liberal economy as
they succeed in bringing growth and development by the integration of national

9
Hans-Peter Martin, Harald Schuman, Capcana globalizrii. Atac la democraie i bunstare, Editura
Economic, Bucharest, 1999, p. 229
10
Ana Bal et al., Economie mondial, Biblioteca digital ASE,Bucureti, http://www.biblioteca-
digitala.ase.ro/biblioteca/pagina2.asp?id=cap12
11
Gabriela Drgan, op. cit.
57
economies in a world without borders. According to New York Times columnist Thomas
Friedman, the term globalization implies the integration of the markets, the nation-states,
and the technologies at an unseen level
12
, and the world is flat, without borders. He
also believes that the strength which determines the uniqueness of this phenomenon is the
newly discovered power of the individuals to cooperate and to compete globally
13
, as a
result of the technology process induced by the technological convergence. The
International Monetary Fund support this concept, defining globalization as the growing
economic interdependence of countries worldwide through the increasing volume and
variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services, of international capital flows,
and through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology
14

The business strategist Kenichi Ohmae believes that the emergence of global
economy is the foundation for the retraction of borders, using the term borderless world
to describe a world where all obstacles in the way of the movement of production factors
were removed. To him, the economic border is not only irrelevant, but it represents a
factor that damages the economic relations between businesses or states: the global
economy ignores barriers, but if they are not removed, they cause distortion
15
. The global
economy follows its own logic, which is different from the logic of state borders. When
analyzing the more specific area of business, characterized by four main elements co-
mmunication, capital, corporations, consumers Ohmae believes that there are absolutely
no borders left
16
.
George Ritzer gradates the idea, stating that integration does not represent an
inevitable component of globalization, because the process can involve sometimes better
integration, but it can also reduce the level of integration. According to Ritzer,
globalization is a transplanetary process which involves increasing liquidity and the
growing multidirectional flows of people, objects, places and information as well as the
structures they encounter and create that are barriers to, or expedite, those flows.
17
Even if
the market is global, there are still many economic barriers that hinder or block the
movements of persons, goods or information, like trade agreements, regulatory agencies,
borders, customs barriers, standards or the digital divide between the developed states
and the developing world
18
.
Ritzer moves to a second perspective on globalization, according to which states
arent any more integrateed nowadays than they were prior to the First World War and
that the world economy was even more global back then (idea supported by Hirst and
Thompson). Economic integration is not global, but regional, as capital flows, trade and
investments are focused within the triad Europe, North America and Japan/Eastern Asia,
and the developing countries are marginalized
19
. Whats more, this perspective
emphasized the fact that globalization deepens the differences between North and South,

12
Thomas L. Friedman, Lexus i mslinul. Cum s nelegem globalizarea, Editura Fundaiei PRO, Bucharest,
2001, p. 3
13
Idem, Pmntul este plat. Scurt istorie a secolului XXI (further Pmntul ), Polirom, Iai, 2007, p. 26
14
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, May 1997, p. 45
15
Kenichi Ohmae, The Next Global Stage. Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World, Wharton
School Publishing,New Jersey, 2005, p. xxv
16
Ibidem, p. 20-21
17
George Ritzer, Globalization: A Basic Text, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, p. 2
18
Ibidem, p. 20-24
19
Debra Johnson and Colin Turner, International Business: Themes and Issues in the Modern Global
Economy, Routledge,New York, 2010, p. 27-28; Joshua Goldstein, Jon C. Pevehouse, op. cit., p. 400-401
Luminia OPRONI

58
as well as the inequalities inside developed countries
20
.
Considering all this, the world remains an ensemble of individual states, separated
by the barriers set to trade between rich and poor countries. According to Anderson and
Bort, the borders maintain important differences between states, especially concerning the
economic activity and management
21
. Robert Gilpin supports this idea, stating that
whereas powerful market forces (trade, finance, and investment) jump political
boundaries and integrate societies, governments frequently restrict and channel their
economic activities to serve the interests of their own societies and of powerful groups
within those societies
22
.
It can be concluded that the economic border remains the world economy and its
role is to protect the states, especially the developed ones, which own the necessary means
to impose their own will and requirements on the global market and before the poor or
developing states.
The third perspective on globalization particularly considers the consequences of
the erosion of the states sovereignty by the supranational organisms and transnational
corporations, and the creation of a diffusion of authority
23
. Many of the states economic
prerogatives are taken by these organisms (EU, IMF, World Bank, WTO), therefore
making changes regarding the relevance of economic borders, seen as an ensemble of
economic policy measures adopted by each state according to their economic culture and
specific national interests. The states inability to control the generated economic flows
dominated by transnational companies, as well as the economic and financial crisis over
the past few years are serious threats to the nation-state
24
.
Transnational companies are wealthier than the majority of developing countries.
However, whats most important, aside from money, they also have political power which
allows them to influence governments when they disagree with their regulations
concerning the economic policy (remission or reduction of tax, regulation of foreign direct
investments, subsidies) to act according to their best interest. Whats more, corporations
are those who made the spread of technology possible from the industrialized countries to
the developing ones, allowing the usage of modern production techniques, which have
reduced the differences between the economic environments of the worlds states
25
. The
new information and communication technologies have facilitated the access to
information about products offered by global companies for consumers from all over the
world, thus creating demand on the markets of developing countries, offering companies
the opportunity to reach new markets, and strongly shaking the states protectionist
barriers. Therefore, corporations play an essential role in the leveling of the conditions
from the markets of different states, in the harmonization of national legislation regarding
foreign investments, thus leading to the reduction of the role and power of economic
borders.
Regardless of the perspective through which globalization is seen, all converge to
the idea that what is currently gaining power and relevance is the region.

20
Joseph E.Stiglitz, op.cit., p. 35, 61-64
21
Malcolm Anderson and Eberhard Bort, The Frontiers of the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan, London,
2001,p. 37
22
Robert Gilpin, Global Political Economy. Understanding the International Economic Order, Princeton
University Press,New Jersey, 2001, p. 81
23
Joshua Goldstein, Jon C. Pevehouse, op.cit., p. 401
24
George Ritzer, op.cit., 140
25
Joseph E.Stiglitz, op.cit., p. 163-164
59
Kenichi Ohmae believes that the region is the economic unit of the global
economy, the new growth center of the world. He defines regions not just as an ensemble
of states, but as areas that represent development poles within different countries. Global
economic development will inevitably lead to the withdrawal of the nation-state before the
region-state, which has a main characteristic the openness to the outside world, the
rest of the world being just a source of prosperity to it
26
. We are therefore standing before
an open economy where important economic decisions are made at a regional level.
Thomas Freidman also speaks of the regional globalization, considered as the
local and regional factor that globalizes itself due to the new information and
communication technologies
27
. This regional globalization is the one that keeps in mind
the cultural specificity of each nation, thus cultivating global diversity. The economic is of
no relevance, being considered the diver of globalization and unification of the planet.

Conclusions
Throughout time, the importance, role and functions of economic borders have
changed continuously, depending on more variables: the economic ideas that governed the
international economic relations, the needs of the actors from the scene of the global
economy, especially that of the strong ones, the states incapacity to form and maintain
their economic and commercial policies in times of pressure exerted by supranational
organizations or multinational companies, the states and regions need to integrate in the
global economy in order to gain access to resources needed for development and growth.
It is difficult to answer the question: has the economic border diminished due to
globalization? The answer depends on the perspective through which the phenomenon of
globalization is seen:
Economic borders between states have completely disappeared in a complete global
economy, according to the supporters of this theory;
Economic borders have an important role and significant functions on the global
market as the differences between the North and the South have deepened and the
states maintain their protectionist tendencies;
Economic borders have diminished as a result of a loss suffered by the nation-states,
loss of economic prerogatives in favor to the supranational organizations and
transnational companies.
In order to adapt to the new context created by globalization, borders have gained
a more dynamic connotation, overtaking its own condition of a symbol of a past world,
which was too little interconnected. Technology and bilateral and international agreements
are the drivers that have generated and have allowed the integration of economies and
markets, and the redefining of economic borders. The emergence of regional blocks as
poles of global economic growth is just a new step in the defining and structuring of
economic borders, especially in the era of instant communication and capital market
liberalization, which have created serious problems regarding the governing methods of
both states and organizations that assume global governance.
The regionalization of the economy is in fact a natural consequence of the
regionalization of investments, services and production which, unlike the economic

26
Kenichi Ohmae,op.cit., p. 82-100
27
Thomas L. Friedman, Pmntul..., p. 410-411
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60
competition and financial markets, have not become completely global
28
. The cultural
differences between nations, including those from the economic area (production methods,
consumption etc.), acknowledged even by the supporters of the world without borders,
also contribute to the regionalization of the global economy and greatly influence the way
in which the economic relations between regions are structured.
Regardless of the perspective from which we see the evolution of the world
economy, it can be said that both phenomena, globalization and regionalization, determine
the multiplication and diversification of the relations between economic players
(especially states and corporations), thus leading to the diminishing of the role of
economic borders and therefore, the diminishing of themselves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Malcolm and Eberhard Bort, The Frontiers of the European Union, Palgrave
Macmillan, London, 2001;
Bal, Ana et al., Economie mondial [World Economy], Biblioteca digital ASE,
Bucharest, http://www.biblioteca-digitala.ase.ro/biblioteca/pagina2.asp?id=cap12;
Colliat, Rmi; Labondance, Fabien, Europanisation des frontires conomiques: le cas
franco-allemand in Trajectoires, 2/2008 (Frontires en question), http://trajectoires.
revues.org/196#ftn7;
Drgan, Gabriela, Fundamentele comerului internaional [Fundamentals of International
Trade], Biblioteca digital ASE, Bucharest,
http://www.bibliotecadigitala.ase.ro/biblio teca/pagina2.asp?id=cap1;
Friedman, Milton; Friedman, Rose, Libertatea de a alege [Free to Choose], Publica,
Bucharest, 2009;
Friedman, Thomas L., Lexus i mslinul. Cum s nelegem globalizarea [The Lexus and
the Olive Tree.Understanding Globalization], Fundaia PRO Publishing House,
Bucharest, 2001;
Idem, Pmntul este plat. Scurt istorie a secolului XXI [The World is Flat. A Brief
History of the Twenty-First Century], Polirom Publishing House, Iai, 2007;
Gilpin, Robert,Global Political Economy.Understanding the International Economic
Order, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 2001;
Goldstein, Joshua; Pevehouse, Jon C., Relaii Internaionale [International Relations],
Polirom, Iai, 2008;
Johnson, Debra; Turner, Colin, International Business: Themes and Issues in the Modern
Global Economy, Routledge, New York, 2010;
Martin, Hans-Peter; Schuman, Harald, Capcana globalizrii. Atac la democraie i
bunstare [The global trap: globalization and the assault on prosperity and
democracy], Editura Economic, Bucharest, 1999;
Ohmae, Kenichi, The Next Global Stage.Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless
World, Wharton School Publishing, New Jersey, 2005;
Ritzer, George, Globalization: A Basic Text, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009;
Stiglitz, Joseph E., Mecanismele globalizrii [Making Globalization Work], Polirom, Iai,
2008;

28
Robert Gilpin, op.cit., p. 293
61
Sut, Nicolae, Comer internaional i politici comerciale contemporane [International
Trade and Contemporary Trade Policy], ALL, Bucharest, 1995;
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, May 1997;
World Trade Organization, About the WTO a statement by the Director-General, WTO,
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/wto_dg_stat_e.htm.

EUROPEAN STUDIES DIFFERENT
DEVELOPMENTS AT THE REGION BORDERS

Mariana BUDA
*

Abstract: The aim of this article is to stress the systematic actions of development of
European Studies from the west to the east of Europe in accordance with the European
integration process. The process was a natural one, the majority of universities adopting
European Studies programs in the previous years of their adhesion to the European
Union. Jean Monnet Action was the European program which most stimulated the
dissemination of European Studies and the development of specializations.

Keywords: European Studies, development of specializations, European curricula, East
Europe, West Europe

European Studies, taught nowadays in most European Universities at
undergraduate, master or doctoral level, became a natural part of the curricula in higher
education. They introduce European dimension in higher education and had contributed to
the continuous European integration process of the European countries to the big family of
the European Community and later on to the European Union
1
. Analyzing various
specialized studies in the broad and comprehensive field of European Studies, we can
claim that these studies have appeared throughout the years in the European academic
environment as a theoretical support within the large process of formation and definition
of the European Union at all levels. Therefore, one by one, European countries included
European Studies in their curricula around the period in which they joined the Union, and
from then on the content of the European Studies has to be adapted to the changes that
took place in Europe.

*
Assistant, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of Oradea,
Romania, e-mail: mariana.buda@yahoo.com
1
Julia Gonzlez, Robert Wagenaar (coord.), Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degrees
Programmes in European Studies in Tuning. European Studies for website, Publicaciones de la Universidad
de Deusto, Spania, p.19. See:http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/
Mariana BUDA

64
In this study we intend to illustrate how European Studies have developed at the
border region of the European Union starting with EU 12 and ending with EU 27.
European studies have influenced each other and have followed an enlargement from
Western to Eastern Europe.

1. European Studies in EU 12
Regarding Belgian universities, yet before 1990 they proposed European study
programs for the undergraduate. Its about degrees in European integration
2
. Free
University of Brussels offers the most comprehensive programs in the field of European
Studies, taking into consideration the wide range of courses provided. European Studies
program offered jointly by the Catholic University of Louvain and Lige University is
oriented towards European Law. Besides this program, the Catholic University of Louvain
offers also a European Studies program of general orientation since 1988.
In the five Danish universities, courses on European integration are taught as part
of the political science, law or economics
3
. Teaching European integration and topics
related to this issue as part of the political science takes place in different educational
systems, even if these courses are taught by the politicians of the moment. A general
observation that can be done is that the subject of European integration in political science
research and teaching was more prominent before Denmark entered the European
Economic Community, before 1973, than in the next 10-15 years.
In its report, Greece proposes only a list of subjects to be taught about European
integration in Greek universities. We can see that European integration is taught as part of
the judicial sciences, political science, economic and business studies.
The French report concerning the development of European Studies is a very
complex one. The first distinction of these studies is made according to the fundamental
field which they are part of. Thereby, Community Law subjects have their origins in the
reform of law degree from 1954 by creating a European organizations course. But the
university autonomy imposed, in turns, either removing Community Law from the
curricula, or introducing it in the curricula, as there is no constant. In France, exclusively
or mainly community specializations emerged since 1974
4
by creating DEA and DEES
programs, which are programs belonging to the second cycle of study, i.e. Masters.
Therefore, the following specializations emerge: DEA in International and European Law,
Economic and Community Law, Single Market Law and DESS in European economy and
European and international management. All of them have specialization in law and
economics and in the end students are required to submit a dissertation or thesis in law or
economics. Another initiative in this respect is to create certificates that do not fall within
the constraints of national diplomas, but provide training focused on European
Community matters. This is the case of the Certificate of European Studies issued by the

2
H. van Houtte, P. de Ridder, European studies program in Place de lintgration europenne dans les
programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux: Belgian Report for the Conference on European Comunity
Studies, 1989, p. 6
3
Morgens N. Pedresen, Teaching European integration in Place de lintgration europenne dans les
programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux:Danish Report for the Conference on European Community
Studies, 1989, p. 37
4
Dcret n73-226 du 27 fvrier 1973 relatif aux diplmes nationaux de l'enseignement suprieur et arrt du
27 fvrier 1973 relatif au diplme d'tudes universitaires gnrales. See The Official Journal of France,
http://archives.assemblee-nationale.fr/5/qst/5-qst-1973-07-07.pdf.
European Studies Different Developments at the Region Borders
65
University of Bordeaux I which groups all courses (institutions, law, and economics) from
the Institute of European Studies in Strasbourg and the European Studies Centre from the
University of Paris I
5
.
In the UK, European Studies have emerged as regional studies, as well as Latin
American studies, Slavic studies and East European studies. As a field of application,
European studies are considering contemporary Western Europe, its policies, its economy,
its legal aspects and one or two foreign languages
6
. Since the emergence of European
Studies program in the UK, it has benefited from a substantial growth. Thus, it increased
greatly in the 70s, thanks to a national incentive and went through a stagnation period in
the 80s, although during this period study programs began to have their own identity and
common goals. Moreover, since 1987, UACES organization arised, The Standing
Conference of Heads of European Studies under the tutelage of Professor Christopher
Bettinson and Kenneth Dyson, is the largest organization of this type, which is mainly
focused on representation of European Studies in Government and research studies in this
area.
The report notes that the financial problems are the most important issue of the
establishment and spread of European studies in Ireland. Administrative difficulties are
not a problem because Irish institutions have a flexible attitude. However, the Irish
encounter academic and political problems at the start of a European Studies program.
Universities, but especially the professors here are traditionalists and wish to keep the
purity of the subjects
7
.
The Italian report, like the Greece one, presents a list of subjects taught in Italian
universities, disciplines which refer to European Community matters. This report provides
concrete data such as: there are 76 European disciplines, out of which 41 are judicial, 12
economics, 8 history and 35 political. 35 disciplines have a 100% European content and
20 have a 90% European content. There are a total of 28 universities with European
character out of 58 Italian universities
8
.
Right after the establishment of the European Community, various law
departments of Dutch universities have introduced in their programs of study disciplines
such as European Economic Law, Law of International Organizations and European Law.
This phenomenon took place in the Netherlands in the 60's, when there was a significant
increase in scientific education in the universities. A common feature to all programs of
European Law in Dutch universities is that a general introduction to International Law is
taught in the second and third year of study, as well as basic concepts of European Law
9
.
Another aspect that deserves special attention is the fact that the University of Amsterdam
is a pioneer in the introduction of courses on European integration which proposes a wide
range of subjects related to European law. Professor Slot, who makes this analysis,
indicates that interest in European law is huge from all perspectives, both from the
standpoint of law companies and the governments, because trained people are needed in
this field to enter the new labor market.

5
Ibidem, p. 132
6
Chris Bettinson, European Community Studies and Studie son Europe in Higher Education in the UK in
Place de lintgration europenne dans les programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989, p. 165-168
7
Background Paper on Ireland for Liaison Comittee Sub-ommittee, in Place de lintgration europenne dans
les programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989, p. 229-234
8
Enseignemets europeens: rapport sur lItalie in Place de lintgration europenne dans les programmes
universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989, p. 236-242
9
Paul Slot, State University of Leiden. I.S.E.I in Place de lintgration europenne dans les programmes
universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989, p. 246

Mariana BUDA

66
As a conclusion of these reports, it can be said that European Studies are a
constant in European higher education and that they are taught in all universities. A
constant that can be seen is that in each country, before its accession to the European
Community, there is an increase of European Studies, an increasing regarding the number
of classes, specialties and interest in this area, probably because of the wish of being
informed about what is happening at the institutional, political and European economic
level. A gradual decline of the interest can be noticed a few years after accession, the
subject being no longer current. This is another testimony to the fact that European
Studies are and will always be a changing process, according to changes of any kind that
occur at a higher level in the European Community or the European Union.

2. Development of European Studies in Eastern Europe
Even though these studies had a relative dynamics until 1989, the real
development was registered especially after 1995-1996, when European Studies were
extended to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. A truly explosion is remarkable
especially after 2000, when countries in the EU accession process massively entered the
game, when witnessing diversification of the reflections on the European agenda and
interrogations began to appear on the new university course. In this context of continuous
development and the need to introduce the idea of Europe in university curricula, arises
Jean Monnet Action in European higher education in 1990.
Jean Monnet program is a European Union action, which aims to foster excellence
in higher education, research and reflection on European integration studies in higher
education institutions around the world
10
.
To support the dissemination of European Studies in South-Eastern Europe, the
Center for European Integration Studies from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University
in Bonn, Germany, together with a number of partners in South-Eastern Europe has
created a network linking major universities in this region of Europe which offer courses
in European Studies. Thus, the Network of European Studies in South-Eastern Europe was
inaugurated during a conference in Sofia on 28
th
29
th
January, 2000
11
.
One of the main goals of the Network of European Studies in South-Eastern
Europe was to create a curriculum that is perfectly adapted to the existing needs in the
new European study programs in South-East Europe. Naturally, European Studies
curriculum for this part of Europe must be built on the already existing experience of most
universities in Western Europe. So we dont start from scratch, which is a promising start.
However, the curriculum implemented in Western Europe was not taken literally, because
there are specific regional peculiarities that must be reflected in curricula. For example,
courses on the past and history of the region, the lack of democratic traditions and civil
society, courses on stabilization and accession process of countries in Eastern Europe to
the European Union, cooperation with NATO and the EU, are just some of the topics to be
addressed in the framework of European Studies in South-Eastern Europe. In addition, it

10
Jean Monnet:Projets exemplaires. LUnion Europenne et le monde, Office des publications officielles des
Communauts europennes, Luxembourg, 2008, p. 3
11
Rafael Biermann, Emil Mintchev, A Core Curriculum for European Studies in South Eastern Europe in
European Integration and South Eastern Europe, Center for European Integration Studies, Bonn, Germany,
2002, p. 5
67
provides a link between Europe and the region.
12
Therefore, the main objective of this
curriculum is continuous education of generations of students in Southeastern Europe, in
order to gain knowledge not only about the European process, but also assimilation,
internalization of European values during their studies.
The Network for European Studies in South Eastern Europe proposes the division
of the curriculum into two basic categories: on the one hand, specialized studies, those
existing in most universities in Europe, and on the other hand, specific South-Eastern
European studies, meaning studies about the special problems existing in this part of
Europe. It is recommended the use of both specialist staff from countries where European
Studies programs are taught and staff of professors from other universities. In this way,
exchanges between universities are being promoted at the level of professors as well
13
.
Since the creation of this network, several conferences and workshops were conducted in
the countries of South East Europe, in order to exchange experiences and ideas, and to
promote these studies.
During the conference European Studies Today held in Romania, at Cluj-Napoca,
in 1997, Kapka Andreytcheva made a brief review of European studies in Bulgaria, which
existed in 1997 at both undergraduate and Masters level. He notes that these studies still
need time to fully implement in Bulgaria and that Bulgarian profssors need training in this
field and fruitful collaboration with colleagues from other European countries, although
European studies are a priority in Bulgarian education
14
. The first Centre of European
Studies in Sofia was founded in 1990, by a decision of the Council of Ministers of
Bulgaria. It is an independent institution whose activity is organized under three poles: the
provision of documents and information, instruction and teaching, research.
At the same conference held in Romania, Anna Wisniewski presented a paper on
European Studies in Poland. From her study, we find out that in 1997 in Poland already
existed eight European Studies Centers which operated under the umbrella of higher
education institutions in Poland. Two of them existed within the Academy of Economics
and the other six within some universities. But there are specializations of European
Studies also in some faculties such as Law, Political Science and Language. It refers also
to the highest Polish institution of learning European Studies, which is the College of
Europe in Natolin campus, Warsaw
15
. Professor Zbigniew B. Rudnicki from Cardinal
Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland, Institute of International Law, European
Union and International Relations is carrying out a broad study on the state of European
studies in Poland. He argues that European studies have been present in the study
programs of Polish universities since the early 1990s. Due to the absence of official
regulations in that period, the first European studies were focused on European
integration
16
. But the real interest of Polish universities in European studies began to be
visible once submitting the application to join the European Union. Around the year 2004,
in Poland it can be seen an outline of a system of teaching and training for European
integration, both at undergraduate, Master, and post-graduate studies. An important role in

12
Ibidem, p. 5-6
13
Ibidem, p. 9
14
Kapka Andreytcheva, Teaching European Studies in Bulgaria: The TEMPUS Contribution in Dan
Grigorescu & Nicolae Pun (eds), European Studies Today, EFES, Cluj-Napoca, 1998, p. 55
15
Anna Winiewska, European Studies in Poland in Dan Grigorescu & Nicolae Pun (eds), European
Studies Today,EFES, Cluj-Napoca, 1998, p. 28
16
Zbigniew B. Rudnicki, The development of European Studies in Poland after 1989 from specialization to
institutionalization, in Jean Monnet Conference. 20 Years of Support for European Integration Studies: From
the Jean Monnet Action to the Jean Monnet Programme, Bruxelles, 2009, p.1
Mariana BUDA

68
the development of European Studies in Poland was played by scientific and educational
networks which have provided European documentation and materials
17
.
At a first sight we think European Studies in Romania have recently appeared, but
they have emerged in Romanian universities only after 2000. However, European Studies
in Romania followed the path they had in other Eastern European countries, so that
Romania fits in the European requirements in this regard. Since 1997 it is organized in
Cluj-Napoca, Romania, an international conference with the theme of European Studies,
which is a proof that it existed in the Romanian university landscape long before. A few
years later, in Bucharest, in the framework of a project there is already an attempt of a first
inventory of European Studies and European research that have been in Romania. Another
important fact in labeling and fleshing European Studies as a specialization in Romania is
Claudiu Crciuns publication in 2003 entitled Nesting Europe. The State of European
Studies and Research in Romania. The purpose of this article is to initiate the formation of
a real image on the European Studies and to provide information and insights that can help
concerning Romanian institutions as well as school communities in order to direct their
policy and efforts towards a faster institutionalization of this discipline and research
area
18
.
Therefore, approximately the same trend can be seen in South- Eastern Europe as
well as in Western Europe related to the introduction of European Studies in universities.
Around the period of accession to the European Union, there is an intensification of these
studies in the curricula. It is a natural tendency, given the need for training future
specialists in the new fields that appear along with integration, not only at national but
also at European level. We consider that there have been made efforts in the South-East of
Europe too to implement an advanced education in European Studies and at present any
university or program of European Studies in Eastern Europe is certainly comparable and
satisfactory as one of the West of Europe.

Conclusions
European studies do not represent a center of interest only in the universities
which can be found in the European Union. They are area studies, general studies, which
may represent an interest also for other countries from outside the European Union.
However, nowadays we can see a greater interest in European studies in non-EU
countries, or in the ones which joined in recent years. In Western European countries the
interest for European Studies seems to decline, this is normal, taking into consideration
that there is a desire for a transition from an idealistic phase to one that explains the
meaning of European Studies. In non-EU countries and even in Romania or in other
countries which joined the EU in the recent waves, it would be necessary that those
courses which contain European dimensions, i.e. European studies, to be at a more
appropriate level for the students, to put more emphasize on the practical part, and offer a
better understanding for the student about the ways in which following this kind of studies
will benefit him/her. European Studies courses in universities from Western Europe tend
to be more applied and adapted to the realities in order to be more useful and relevant for

17
Ibidem, p.6
18
Claudiu Crciun, Nesting Europe. The State of European Studies and Reasearch in Romania,
See:http://www.pedz.uni-mannheim.de/daten/edzk/gde/03/Nesting%2520Europe%2520The%2520state%2520
of%2520European%25Romania.pdf.
69
the students. Here there was a move from the explanatory phase, the implementation of
the basic concepts, to the phase in which they put the knowledge into practice, in the
experienced realities. We believe that this is the natural evolution of European Studies,
and that in time they will be perceived at a different level and in different dimensions in
all countries.
The analysis of the documents regarding the status of European Studies in most
European countries, since their establishment as a subject and up to nowadays, leads us to
realize that we can speak of three major evolutionary stages of European Studies in terms
of their approach to curricula of study, namely: European Studies until 1990, European
Studies between 1990-2000 and European Studies after 2000.
The period up to 1990 is characterized by attempts by universities, either to
introduce European Studies curriculum or to popularize it among students. They are a
totally new area; however they do enjoy recognition from the behalf of the students. Some
countries already accord an importance to this area, but there are also countries in which
universities deal less with this aspect. What we have found in reports regarding the status
of European integration courses in each country, is that near to accession to the Union,
each of them have recognized an increase in teaching subjects with European final.
If until 1990, European universities could justify the lack of European study
programs for financial reasons, it is no longer the case since 1990. That was the moment
when the European wide program of Jean Monnet Action was initiated, through which, in
turn, all universities may require the creation of departments, modules or even Jean
Monnet Centers of Excellence, funded by the European Union. These departments,
modules or dissemination centers provide courses on European issues. Until 2000, when
the project was absolutely accessible to all universities in Europe, both to members and
non-members of the European Union, the spread of "teaching about Europe" including a
large number of specializations and faculties, the benefits were multiple. Therefore, the
period between 1990 and 2000 represents, through the Jean Monnet Action, the largest
flowering period of European Studies.
Another European class project marks the beginning of the third stage in the
evolutionary process of European Studies. It's about Tuning Project, also financed by the
European Union which started in 2000. The singularity of this project is that for the first
time, European Studies, together with some classical fields of study such as Mathematics
or chemistry, which is a special educational structure, is provided with own curriculum,
assessment, teaching and learning methods or a list of mandatory knowledge acquired by
the end the program. Therefore, European studies after 2000 are characterized by
independence and academic recognition.
In addition to the three stages of evolution, it is important to note the fact that
European Studies have developed in different ways at the European Union borders. They
have gradually developed, as countries were integrated into the Union but also by the
specificity of the areas. What was originally on the border with the other countries, in that
the EU was geographically until that point, has come to be inside the Union and influence
gradually the spread and development of this specialization which is common nowadays
in all universities of Europe.
We believe that throughout the years and once gaining experience in the field of
European Studies, the discipline will continue to grow and take other forms, perhaps more
practical, both in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe.

Mariana BUDA

70
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dcret n73-226 du 27 fvrier 1973 relatif aux diplmes nationaux de l'enseignement
suprieur et arrt du 27 fvrier 1973 relatif au diplme d'tudes universitaires
generals;
Jean Monnet: Projets exemplaires. LUnion Europenne et le monde, Office des
publications officielles des Communauts europennes, Luxembourg, 2008;
***, Place de lintgration europenne dans les programmes universitaires. Rapports
nationaux, Publications officielles des Communauts europennes, 1989;
Andreytcheva, Kapka, Teaching European Studies in Bulgaria: The TEMPUS
Contribution in Dan Grigorescu & Nicolae Pun (eds), European Studies Today,
European Studies Foundation Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 1998;
Bettinson, Chris, European Community Studies and Studie son Europe in Higher
Education in the UK in Place de lintgration europenne dans les programmes
universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989;
Biermann, Rafael; Mintchev, Emil, A Core Curriculum for European Studies in South
Eastern Europe in European Integration and South Eastern Europe, Center for
European Integration Studies, Bonn, Germany, 2002;
Crciun, Claudiu, Nesting Europe. The State of European Studies and Reasearch in
Romania,http://www.pedz.unimannheim.de/daten/edzk/gde/03/Nesting%2520Euro
pe%2520The%2520state%2520of%2520European%25Romania.pdf;
Gonzlez, Julia; Wagenaar, Robert (coord.), Reference Points for the Design and
Delivery of Degrees Programmes in European Studies in Tuning. European Studies
for website, Publicaciones de la Universidad de Deusto, Spania,
http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu/;
Grigorescu, Dan; Pun, Nicolae, European Studies Today, International Conference in
Cluj-Napoca, 29-30 September 1997, European Studies Foundation Publishing
House, Cluj-Napoca, 1998;
Pedresen, Morgens N., Teaching European integration in Place de lintgration
europenne dans les programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux: Danish Report
for the Conference on European Community Studies, 1989;
Rudnicki, Zbigniew B., The development of European Studies in Poland after 1989
from specialization to institutionalization, in Jean Monnet Conference. 20 Years of
Support for European Integration Studies: From the Jean Monnet Action o the Jean
Monnet Programme, Bruxelles, 2009;
Slot, Paul, State University of Leiden. I.S.E.I in Place de lintgration europenne dans
les programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux, 1989;
Van Houtte, H.; De Ridder, P., European studies program in Place de lintgration
europenne dans les programmes universitaires. Rapports nationaux: Belgian Report
for the Conference on European Comunity Studies, 1989;
Winiewska, Anna, European Studies in Poland in Dan Grigorescu & Nicolae Pun
(eds), European Studies Today, European Studies Foundation Publishing House,
Cluj-Napoca, 1998.

DIFFERENT TERRITORIAL LEVELS OF
ROMANIAN HUNGARIAN CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION

*

Abstract:The Romanian-Hungarian border has evolved in time from a closed, guarded
border to an open one after 1989, a period when the success of cross-border cooperation
models in Europe were taken on by the two nations, either as an Eurometropolis, or as
Euroregion, operating with a series of instruments and institutions that facilitated
cooperation within various areas of cross-border interest; these instruments have been
gradually adapted until the present days when new ones replaced the old ones, the latest
instrument being the EGTC.

Keywords: NUTS, CBC, Euroregion, Eurometropolis, EGTC

The change of political regime within the former socialist countries, even if not
abruptly, but in time has given us the status of EU Member State, Hungary (HU) in 2004
and Romania (RO) in 2007.
Our hypothesis asserts that the political changes opened and supported the
possibility of a structural development, multilevel territorial, for the cross-border
cooperation on the HU RO border.
We can note that these positive European models had effects on our region only in
the period after December 1989, when the cross-border relations were diversified in
conformity to the European model.
The focus of our research is the communities of Debrecen and Oradea, two
centres situated on both parts of the Romanian-Hungarian border, at the confluence of
various NUTS levels.In order to join the European Union, Romania had to join the
European system of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) in 2002.
We will debate on the Euroregional level as well, although it does not officially
belong to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics.

*
Assistant, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of Oradea,
Romania, e-mail: ctv_i@yahoo.com

72
Regional dimension
In Europe, the idea of a continent of regions was first issued in the 1960s, when
the Swiss essayist Denis de Rougemont criticised the nation-state as it blocked the
affirmation of internal entities. The first collaboration between neighbouring regions (at
the border between France, Switzerland, and Germany) dates back to the same time.
In the process of defining regions, the territorial element is the central point, while
the social, economic and political content of regionalism varies according to the results of
political processes.
Our research has identified several authors who gave definitions of the region,
each one using a specific criterion:
a) an economic definition of a region considers some core criteria such as
1
: common
manufacturing models, interdependence, commercial connections, labour market,
etc.;
b) aiming at delimiting regions based on the economic criteria, C. Engel distinguishes
between three main types of regions
2
;
c) in 1882, the Paris Geographical Society promotes the survey on natural regions. The
region is considered as belonging to an area differing from the neighbouring areas
3
;
d) in order to have a functional definition, we have to consider models of social
interaction, such as leisure, recreation and trip models;
e) from the point of view of region identification criteria, we can notice the following
two main criteria
4
: NUTS statistic identification criterion, geographical and
sociologic identification criterion with other four sub-criteria;
f) another type is political region
5
lying at the crossroads of two distinct yet
representative processes: regionalisation and regionalism;
g) when speaking about vertical relations, P. Schmitt Egner distinguishes between
three types of regions
6
: national region, international region, transnational region.

Table 1. Classification of the regions
Management and
central institutional
regions
Administrative regions

Study regions
Regions as
physical areas
Natural region

Geographical
regions

Space

Territory

System

Living regions

Cultural region
Social region
Historical region

Functional regions
Key region
Agricultural region
Industrial region
Economic region
Functional region
Urban region
Metropolitan region
Source: Barna R.C., p. 15

1
Keating Michael, Noul Regionalism n Europa Occidental, Institutul European, Iai, 2008, p. 21
2
Barna Radu Cristian, Economie regional, Editura Fundaiei pentru Studii Euroregionale, Cluj-Napoca, 2008,
p. 25
3
Ibidem, p. 13
4
Sauron Jean Luc, Le Puzzle des institutions europeennes, 4e rdition, Gualino Editeur, Paris 2010, p. 36-37
5
Committee of the Regions, Committee Of The Regions1996-2003, European Communities, 2004, p. 116
6
Barna Radu Cristian, op. cit.,p. 23
Different Territorial Levels of Romanian Hungarian Cross-Border Cooperation
73
We will tackle only certain definitions, which we believe to be representative for
the concept of mainstream European institutions, definitions given by specialised
researchers.
Passi points out that regions are social construct that are created in political,
economic, cultural and administrative practice and discourse, regions are territorially
shaped by clearly recognizable borders, they are shaped symbolically by a name, they are
shaped institutionally by administrative bodies, and they are shaped by a regional identity
and recognized by the shared opinions of their inhabitants
7
.
From the perspective of the European Regions Association, region is an entity
under central government with a representative political power rooted in an elected
council or a group or association representing the authority on a regional level
8
.
The European Commission considers the region as an instrument for structural
promotion focused on regional economy and Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
Statistics, NUTS.
From the point of view of the financial aspect envisaged for the 2007-2013
programme, the budget for regional policy is 3478 billion euro as compared to the 2000-
2006 period, when it only provided 213 billion euro
9
.

Table 2. European Regional Policy
2000-2006 2007-2013
Objective Instrument Objective Instrument
Cohesion Fund Cohesion fund
Objective 1 FERER, FSE,
FEOGA,
IFOP
Convergence FEDER, FSE,
Cohesion Fund
Objective 2 FEDER, FSE Regional competitiveness
and employment
FEDER, FSE
Objective 3 FSE European territorial
cooperation
FEDER
Interreg FEDER
Urban FEDER
Equal FSE
Leader FEOGA
Rural development and
restructuration of fishing
outside objective 1
FEOGA-
IFOP
Source: Renaud Dehousse, Politiques Europeennes, Presse des Sciences Po, Paris, 2009, p. 272

From the point of view of the regional level, the two development regions to
which the two centres belong, North-Western Development Region and Eszak-Alfold
Development Region, are representative.
Consequently, after Romanias harmonisation to the European requirements, we
can speak of the following NUTS levels
10
: Level NUTS I Romania, Level NUTS II 8
development regions, Level NTUS III 41 counties and the municipality of Bucharest,

7
Wichmann Matthienssen Christian, The Oresund Area: Pre and post bridge cross-border functional
integration: the bi-national regional question, in GeoJournal 61, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherland,
2004, p. 31
8
www.a-e-r.org
9
Tourian Jouno, Questions europeennes. Les droit et les politiques de l Union, Press Universitaire de France,
Paris, 2009, p. 570
10
Ilie Alexandru, Romnia ntre milenii. Frontiere, areale frontaliere i cooperare transfrontalier, Editura
Universitii din Oradea, Oradea, 2003, p. 96

74
Level NUTS IV not applicable, Level NUTS V - 265 municipalities and towns; 2,686
communes made up of 13,902 villages.
On the level of NTUS II, the eight development regions in Romania are the
following: North-Western Development Region, North-Eastern Development Region,
South-Eastern Development Region, Southern Development Region, South-Western
Development Region, Western Development Region, Central Development Region,
Bucureti and the IlfovCounty.

Map1. Romania - NUTS II and NUTS III (own elaboration)

Table 3. Demography in North-Western Development Region in 2004
Counties of the North-Western
Development Region
Inhabitants Percentage
Cluj 686,825 25.07%
Bihor 596,961 21.8%
Maramure 516,562 18.86%
Satu Mare 371,759 13.58%
Bistria Nsud 318,558 11.62%
Slaj 247,796 9.06%
Total Region 2,738,461 100%
Source: http://www.nord-vest.ro/genpage.aspx?pc=prezentarepdr.aspx,pp 60-61

North-Western Development Region has partnerships with similar regions like:
cooperation agreements with Veneto, Sicilia, and Lazio Regions in Italy, Northern
Stateline (Illinois, USA), Auvergne Region (France).
The cooperation protocol between the counties of Bihor, Bistria Nsud, Cluj,
Maramure, Satu Mare, Slaj making up the North-Western Development Region
(Romania) and the Northern Great Plain Region (szak-Alfldi Rgi), Hungary, aims at
supporting political, economic, social and cultural cooperation between the North-Western
Region in Romania and Northern Great Plain Region in Hungary.
75
The protocol shows the commitment of both parties to promote partnership and
understanding for mutual benefits. The parties have undertaken to develop a joint contact
and cooperation area focusing on tourism, environmental protection, agriculture, rural
development, human resource development, economy, business development, research
development innovation, access and infrastructure, culture and sports, institutional
cooperation, structural funds and project management
11
.
In Hungary, there are seven regions
12
: Eszak Alfold, Dal Alfold, Del Dunantul,
Nyugat Dunantul, Kozep Dunantul, Kozep Magyarorszag, Eszak Magyarorszag.

Map 2. Hungary - NUTS II and NUTS III (own elaboration)

Table 4. Statistic data for the Eszak Alfold Region, Hungary
szak-Alfld Regio Inhabitants %
Jsz-Nagykun-Szolnok 415,917 27%
Hajd-Bihar 552,998 36%
Szabolcs-Szatmr-Bereg 582,256 37%
Total Region 1,551,171 100%
Source: http://www.nepszamlalas.hu/hun/kotetek/04/tabhun/maptoc09000.html

Partnerships of the szak-Alfld Region:Valencia Rgi - Spain, Szsz-Anhalt
Rgi Germany, Centre Rgi France, Champagne-Ardenne Rgi France,
Flevoland- Holland, szak-Nyugat Rgi- Romania

Euroregional dimensions. Definitions, functions and types of Euroregions
The idea of Euroregion occurs at the same time with the evolving process of local
autonomy and regionalisation. The aim is to set direct connections between regions and

11
http://www.nord-vest.ro/GenPage.aspx?pc=regiunipartenere.aspx
12
www.nfu.hu

76
communities on both sides of state borders by virtue of local authorities competences as
they are defined in national and European law. The conditions for optimal development of
a Euroregion are minimal economic balance, cultural similarities despite ethnic diversity,
geographical proximity and common historical heritage. Cooperation develops mainly in
these fields.
The cross-border cooperation Euroregion is a voluntary association respecting
national and international law, territorial and administrative structures of the countries at
different levels with the aim to eliminate territorial isolation and to settle the framework
for cultural connection or to rebuild typical groups, and to set up economic development
nuclei to achieve a balance between the centre and the periphery at an advanced stage of
functional territorial systems.
The cross-border cooperation region aims at facilitating dialogue between state
governmental structures and local or regional interstate structures. The aim is to achieve a
coherent development area and an international partnership to develop border peoples
standard of living. In fact, they are competing structures in one or several states belonging
to the cross-border cooperation region
13
.
The basic elements of a cross-border region are as follows: territory, inhabitants
and cross-border institutions
14
.
The association of European Border Regions states that within the limits of the
geographical aim of cooperation, cross-border structures are cooperation arrangements for
cooperation between local or regional governmental structures lying along the border in
agreement with the promotion of common interest to increase the standard of living of
border populations
15
.
A successful Euroregion has to meet certain prerequisites, such as: the interest of
inhabitants is vital and has to be considered; institutions and organisations that are
involved on both sides of the border; the representatives of political life have to be
involved at all levels; establishing bodies that efficiently carry out their tasks.
Euroregions can also be categorised from the point of view of cross-border
cooperation as follows: cooperation along internal borders, cooperation along external
borders.
In order to have an efficient cooperation and communication on the regional and
Euroregional levels, we have to consider a wide range of aspects
16
: space, time,
technology, rules, policies, power exercise, economy, communication: language, symbols,
culture, identity, human resources, social aspect.
The Euroregional dimension locating in its central part the two neighbouring regions,
namely Oradea, Bihor County (Romnia) and Debrecen, Hajdu Bihar County (Hungary),
is represented by the participation of the two municipalities in the two Euroregions:
Bihor - Hajdu Bihar and Carpatica.
There are two directions for cooperation in Bihor Hajdu Bihar Euroregion and they are
coordinated by commissions designated for this particular purpose:

13
Vasile Simileanu, Regiunile de cooperare transfrontalier, in Geopolitica, Regiunile de Cooperare
transfrontalier. Surse de conflict sau de stabilitate?, Editura TOP FORM, Bucureti, 2006, p. 5-6
14
Boar Nicolae, Regiunea transfrontalier romno ucrainean a Maramureului, Presa Universitar
Clujean, Cluj Napoca, 2005, p. 25
15
Ilie A., Romnia. Euroregiuni, Editura Universitii din Oradea, Oradea, 2004, p. 23-24
16
Lunden Thomas, On the Boundary. About humans at the end of territory, Elanders Gotab, Stockholm, 2004,
p. 25-125
77
a. Commission for international cooperation: is in charge with the international
cooperation of the Euroregion;
b. Commission for Cooperation and Sustainable Development: pursues and tracks
funding opportunities and other financial resources based on annual strategic
priorities settled by the Council of the Euroregion; expresses opinions on individual
projects and fund allowance forwarding them to the Board. Considering the structure
of the Bihor Hajd - Bihar Euroregion, we will review some characteristics of the
administrative units making up the Euroregion in the BihorCounty and the Hajd-
BiharCounty.

The Carpathian Euroregions main aims and tasks are defined in the basic
documents (The Founder Agreement and the Joint Declaration) as follows
17
:
a) To organize and coordinate those activities which promote economic, ecological,
cultural, scientific and educational co-operation between the members;
b) To promote between the members of the association the elaboration of concrete
plans regarding the matters of joint concernment;
c) To promote and facilitate the relations between people, including relations between
experts in various fields;
d) To promote good neighbourly relations between the members;
e) To promote regional development;
f) To determine the multilateral collaborations potential fields among the members;
g) To connect and facilitate co-operation between the members and other international
organizations, institutions and agencies.

County dimension
The NUTS represented in the two counties on both sides of the Romanian-
Hungarian border is identified by the Counties of Bihor (Romnia) and Hajdu - Bihar
(Hungary).
From the perspective of Romanian - Hungarian border cooperation, with the two
target communities of Debrecen and Oradea, counties of Bihor, Hajd - Bihar, we notice
the development of cooperation and in this sense we provide a number of data confirming
the interrelationship areas subject to our study, focusing mainly on the period in which the
Hungary and Romania are Member State of the European Union; the research directions
that we turned to are the initiatives of Debrecen and Oradea municipalities through the
common project entitled "Window to Europe" and through the cross-border cooperation
programme part of the Hungary-Romania Cross Border Cooperation Programmes
2007-2013 CBC implemented in the past within the region (Interreg IIIA in Hungary and
Phare CBC in Romania) in order to stimulate cross-border cooperation in 2007-2013,
through the European Regional Development Fund and the contribution of the two
Member States.
The analysed dimension is the cross-border projects, based on the published
statistical data about Romanian-Hungarian cross-border cooperation with a target on 4
Romanian counties (Satu-Mare, Bihor, Arad and Timioara) and 4 Hungarian counties

17
Sli Zakar Istvn, A Karpatok Euroregio Interregionalis Szovetseg Tiz Eve, Debreceni Egyetem Kossuth
Egyetemi Kiadoja, Debecen, 2003, p. 111

78
(Szabolcs-Szatmar Bereg, Hajd-Bihar, Bekes, Csongrad). We noted that the counties of
Bihor (Ro) and Hajd-Bihar (HU) are the most active on the Romanian and Hungarian
sides, with a total of 36 implemented projects on the two financing priorities; the amount
of implemented projects is 5761400 Euro, which is 37% of the European funding attracted
for the Romanian-Hungarian border.

Graphs 1. HU-RO projects

Source : http://www.huro-cbc.eu/en/financed_projects

Cities dimension
In terms of the annual joint project of the two communities of Debrecen and Oradea,
where the main attraction is the pageant exhibition, organizing a conference with a very
wide array of topics that relate primarily to an effective cooperation with results such as:
support for joint projects for a joint development of the communities of Debrecen and
Oradea, the regional and Euro Dimensions of the two communities are part of joint
development strategies and identify common points of cooperation between the two cities.

Table 5. Debrecen Oradea Project: Window Open to Europe
Year Conference Themes Personalities
2005 Introducing the
"Debrecen 2010 -
Cultural Capital of
Europe"
Project presentation
by the community of
Oradea
Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, Gabor
Turi, Project Manager, Zoltan Korosy,
Mayor of Oradea, Petru Filip, Deputy
Mayor Biro Rozalia
2006 Future cooperation
between the towns
of Oradea and
Debrecen
Think a Common
Future - Oradea-
Debrecen 2020
Centre of Excellence "Jean Monnet" in
universities in Debrecen and Oradea,
Oradea Vice Biro Rozalia
2007 Pageant exhibition Cultural and
educational activities
Reprezentani ai mediului universitar,
administrativ i societatea civil
2008 Euroregional
conference
"The role of public
administration in
the Euroregions
Presentation of Bihor
Hajd-Bihar
Euroregion
Prof. Ioan Horga PhD.
Regionalism in
Europa
Prof. Istvan Suli-Zakar PhD.
79
Eligible regions in
Europe
MEP Iuliu Winkler
Regional
Development
Agency-Alfld szak
Laszlo Buzas, director of Department of
Regional Development Agency-Alfld
szak
2009

Debrecen and
Oradea in the
European Union -
developing
strategies
Debrecen and Oradea
in the European
Union - developing
strategies
Marcel Bolos, Executive Director of the
Division for Sustainable Development
and External Financing and Bak Ferenc
Oradea City Hall, Financial Director at
the Society of Commercial
Management Debrecen Patrimony
2010 The development
potential for the
Euro-region Bihor-
Hajd-Bihar
Identification of
common collaboration
points between the
two regions
Prof. Ioan Horga PhD.
Prof. Istvan Suli-Zakar PhD.
2011 The fortress of
Oradea as toursitc
objective of major
importance with
Bihor- Hajd-Bihar
Euroregion
Identification if
efficient promotion
means for the Fortress
of Oradea, and
issuance of a
municipal strategy of
marketing for the
Fortress
Prof. Ioan Horga PhD, Prof. Istvan
Suli-Zakar PhD, MEP Iuliu Winkler,
Ilosvai Pter, Executiv Manager IT
Services Hungary, Bzs Lszl,
Department Manager Eszak-Alfold
Regio

Source: www.bihon.ro and www.crisana.ro

In conclusion, the initial hypothesis postulating that the Romanian-Hungarian
border was closed before 1989 and then opened after the fall of communism checks out:
the European models for territorial cooperation have evolved, following examples of good
practice the European models for cross-border or territorial cooperation with the new
instrument called EGTC regulating the operation of the Eurometropolises.
EGTC Regulation refers to a legal instrument, although the validity is not limited
to the 2007-2013 programming period it is meant to be used for: should be able to act,
either for the purpose of implementing territorial cooperation programs or projects co-
financed by the Community, notably under the Structural Funds in conformity with
Regulation (EC) No 1082/2006 and Regulation (EC) No 1080/2006 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the European Regional Development
Fund, or for the purpose of carrying out actions of territorial cooperation which are at the
sole initiative of the Member States and their regional and local authorities with or without
a financial contribution from the Community
18
. Another reason for creating this common
mechanism for integrated management refers to the principle of non-cooperation that
should not be more difficult between two partners from different Member States, only
between partners in the same MemberState. We have considered the European examples
of good practice that accessed this new instrument, i.e. Lille Kortrijk- Tournai
Eurometropolis (which was the first such structure created in Europe), the communities of
Debrecen and Oradea based on the cooperation proven by our previous research. We are
safe to say that there are premises according to which a new Eurometropolis can be

18
Adrian-Claudiu Popoviciu, Constantin-Vasile oca, Romanian-Hungarian Cross-Border Cooperation
Through a Possible EGTC Oradea Debrecen in Horga I., Brbulescu I. Gh., Ivan Adrian, Palinchak Istvan,
Suli-Zakar Istvan (eds.), Regional and Cohesion Policy Insight Into the Role of the Partnership Principle in
the New Policy Design, , University of Oradea Press, Oradea, 2011, p. 241

80
developed in the near future, namely Debrecen Oradea Eurometropolis
19
, using the
EGTC instrument and thus, in the near future we can talk about new forms of cooperation
on each side of the Romanian-Hungarian border.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Cluj-Napoca, 2008;
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transfrontalier, Editura Universitii din Oradea, Oradea, 2003;
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Universitaire de France, Paris, 2009;
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2008;
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Stockholm, 2004;
Popoviciu, AdrianClaudiu; oca ConstantinVasile, Romanian-Hungarian Cross-
Border Cooperation Through a Possible EGTC Oradea Debrecen, in Horga I.,
Brbulescu I. Gh., Ivan Adrian, Palinchak Istvan, Suli-Zakar Istvan (eds.), Regional
and Cohesion Policy Insight Into the Role of the Partnership Principle in the New
Policy Design,University of Oradea Press, Oradea, 2011;
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Paris 2010;
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Egyetem Kossuth Egyetemi Kiadoja, Debecen, 2003;
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Borders in the Eastern Periphery of the European Union, in Eurolimes, no. 7,
Bruylant, 2009;
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border functional integration: the bi-national regional questionin GeoJournal 61,
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http://www.nfu.hu;
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19
Istvn Sli-Zakar,The Role of the Euroregions and Eurimetropolises in the Etheralisation of the Borders in
the Eastern Periphery of the European Union in Eurolimes, no.7, Bruylant, 2009, p. 144

ECONOMIC AND TECHNOCRATIC
LEADERSHIP AT BORDERLAND

*

Abstract: The market economy experienced bit-by-bit by the post-communist democracies
offered particular opportunities for particular regions, i.e. those situated around the
external borders of the states. Whatever we refer to Western or Eastern frontier, to
Northern or to Southern one, it is possible to find local institutional or individual actors
who started to play a very influential role on local or regional decision-making process.
Our argumentation will be sustained by the examples of some important organisations
such as metropolitan areas. Two special cases will be considered in order to sustain the
significance of this phenomenon, those of Oradea and Iai where established and are
working with very good results the most active two Romanian metropolitan areas. The two
areas are interesting both giving to their positive results in the process of metropolisation
and by the regional particularities.

Keywords: metropolisation; local development; local leadership; borderland potential

Introduction: the state of play and some conceptual approaches
The perspective of joining the European Union offered to the new democracies
from the Central and Eastern Europe the possibility to test some very innovative
organisational practices. Hence, euro-regionalisation, regionalisation, decentralisation,
deconcentration or metropolisation were by turns tested in this zone of Europe, in different
moments and with different tools and outcomes. Each of these processes could be studied
from various viewpoints, both individually and in their interdependences. Ones of these
processes, such as regionalisation or decentralisation, were necessary to be implemented
in order to perform the adoption of acquis communautaire, others were considered as the
proper instruments to realise a better local development.

*
Lecturer, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of Oradea, Romania
e-mail: cmgheorghe@yahoo.co.uk

82
Romania started later the process of EU accession, but it adopted more or less in
due time the acquis communautaire, on the one hand, and some western practices
considered as useful for the economic development or in other areas. Regarding the
establishment of the metropolitan areas, it is possible to consider it as a generalised
phenomenon in Romania, although it depends in a great extent by the political
management of the cities, by the horizon and vision of this political management
embodied in the representatives of the municipal councils. Not in the end, establishment
of the metropolitan areas depends the geographical position of the cities, by the given or
the possible to be create infrastructure, by some natural data. As we will observe from the
analysed cases, there are different factors that have to join in order to establish and to
maintain functional, efficient and useful a metropolitan area.
Concerning the definition of metros and metropolisation, this seems to be not easy
to conceive an enough general and objective one, despite the diffusion of this
phenomenon: metropolitan areas differ across Europe in terms of function and size
1
.
At a superficial glance, the common characteristics of metros
2
could be considered the
pool of the high modernism of the urban life, welfare, widen spaces, populations and
activities, less of visibility of administrative structures,
3
uncertainty of its dimensions, its
social and productive role achieved by administrative and/or political districts
4
.
However, a general approach of the concept of metropolitan areas has to exist:
Metropolitan areas are geographical spaces that include the administrative city at the
core, and encompass outlying areas to a greater or lesser degree
5
. In the same time, it is
possible to be considered from four perspectives: that of the continuity of built-area,
Morphological Urban Area; that of the labour market basin, that physically could be
separated by administrative territory of the city, i.e. the Functional Urban Area; that of
developers existent in the area, so constituting the broader economic area; and that of
rural hinterland, indirectly connected to the metropolitan area, and so considered
thebroader interpretation of rural-urban region
6
. Consequently, beside the common
characteristic of urban agglomeration, each metro and metropolitan area could and should
receive or adopt its own definition, giving to different particularities at demographic,
social, economic, judicial, geographical, cultural, statistical levels, and indifferently if it is
established from down to top or top to down.
Considered as being of crucial importance specifically for the post-2013
cohesion policy
7
, establishment of metropolitan areas and their cooperation appear to be
enough seriously considered in Romania. We intended and realised only a fragmentary
analysis, focused especially on the vivacity of the borderland metropolitan zones, but an
economic comparative analysis of the different metropolitan areas established in EU

1
Eurocities, Cities cooperating beyond their boundaries: evidence through experience in European cities in
EUROCITIES Working Group Metropolitan Areas, 2011, p. 5, http://www.eurometrex.org/Docs/METRO-
D/Eurocities-Background-paper.pdf
2
They are also called as capitals, metropolis, megapolis, megalopolis, conurbations, central commune, urban
area, metropolitan area. See Collette Vallat, lments pour redfinir les aires mtropolitaines: l'exemple
napolitain, in Mlanges de l'Ecole franaise de Rome. Italie et Mditerrane, t. 106, no. 1, 1994, p. 366.
3
Bruno Morriset, La dlimitation des aires mtropolitains. Rpresentations et enjeu politique. Lexemple de
la mtropole lorraine Nancy-Metz in Annales de gographie, t. 106, no. 595, p. 244-245
4
Vallat, op.cit., p. 366
5
Eurocities, op.cit., p. 11
6
Ibidem, p. 12; European Union. Directorate General for Regional Policy, Cities of tomorrow. Challenges,
visions, ways forward, Brussels, October 2011, p. 1-2
7
Eurocities, op. cit., p. 5
Economic and Technocratic Leadership at Borderland
83
integrated Romania will offer, probably, an excellent databasis and methodological
support for the representatives of metropolitan zones and for political decision-makers
too.Metropolitan area cooperation is of crucial importance, both for the discussion on
post-2013 cohesion policy, and also in a broader sense for strengthening the
competitiveness of the EUs cities and regions and thereby delivering the objectives of the
Europe 2020 Strategy
8
.

The metropolisationas a European phenomenon
Despite of this subtitle, the metropolisation is not only a European phenomenon,
whatever in the world being possible to observe this type of approach to specific
characteristics of a given space. This state of play is given first of all to the more and more
dynamic international economic relations, to the increasingly porosity of the states
borders, to the increasing process of decentralisation, and not in the end, to the necessity
to exploit the local or regional opportunities in the benefit of communities. Hence, the
cities, as the places where concentrated
9
the most skilled and educated people, where new
lifestyles and new economic and social processes are invented and implemented
10
, are
considered at the vanguard of the new global challenges, the places of competition and
of solutions
11
to the new local, regional, cross-border, national or yet international
challenges. Globalisation, it is obvious, played its major role in this phenomenon, as a
catalytic agent of all of these: a prosperous economic life of communities is not yet
possible outside the global challenges. However, for the member states of the European
Union their member statute itself played its role in this dynamism, especially in the
Eastern Europe, giving to the very important economic place of EU
12
in the world from the
point of global trade in goods
13
.
As already revealed, at the local level the most important role in confronting and
producing this dynamism belongs to the cities, the microcosms of the world
14
, main
gateways to the world the transport hubs, the nodes in the global financial systems, the

8
Ibidem, p. 30
9
Concentration is considered one of the key characteristics of urban regions, that pool artefacts, economic
agents and production, infrastructure, communication and traffic networks, knowledge networks, intra-
company networks, highly educated people, education agents, R&D institutions. See Urban Grsjo, Charlie
Karlsson, Urban Regions in Europe Preconditions and Strategies for Growth and Development in the
Global Economy in CESIS Electronic Working Papers Series, no. 277, June 1, 2012, p. 3-5,
http://www.kth.se/polopoly_fs/1.339269!/Menu/general/column-content/attachment/CESISWP277.pdf.
10
11
This means not that cities produce only solutions, they could alike be the source of various issues.
12
EU itself proposed a set of objectives for the European cities: to transform the in some places of advanced
social progress, with a higher quality of life, welfare and social justition, with a very good system of
education, source of democracy, cultural dialogue and diversity, in the same time places of green,
ecological or environmental regeneration. See European Union. Directorate General for Regional Policy, p.
10-11.
13
ESPON, Territorial dynamics in Europe. Regions and cities in the global economy in Territorial
Observation, no. 6 May 2012, p. 8, http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Publications/
TerritorialObservations/TO6_May2012/TO-6_Regions_and_cities_in_the_global_economy.pdf
14
Johannes Hahn, The future EU cohesion policy: Investing in Europes cities, communication presented at
the Conference on Effective instruments for territorial development, Warsaw, 24 October 2011, p. 2,
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-
2014/hahn/headlines/speeches/pdf/24102011_investing_europe_cities.pdf

84
smart places
15
where have to pool knowledge, innovation, technology, infrastructure,
and, obviously, highly-educated people. This type of cities, which represents essential
drivers of national and European economic development
16
, should be able to excel both
at horizontal level, by comparison with other similar urban entities, and at vertical level,
by comparison with national economic growth. This development level could be a proper
reason to ask for some new rules to political level, to ask for more competences at local
and regional level, to inspire a new kind of local leadership (more technocratic, because is
based especially on elaborated assessments and professional evaluations), to make
possible the put into practice the so called metropolitan governance
17
or urban
governance
18
, where beside political level in the process of decision-taking are
participating the communities too.
19
In order to reach this point, it is necessary to join an
assembly of factors, amongst the more important are considered: cluster-based economy,
proximity of trading linkages, and the uniqueness of activities (specialisation of the
urban areas or even regions, when possible). Not less important is, for these cities, to

15
ESPON, New Evidence on Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Territories in First ESPON 2013 Synthesis
Report, Luxembourg, October 2010, p. 31, http://www.espon.eu/main/Menu_Publications/Menu_
SynthesisReports/
16
Eurocities, op. cit., p. 6.
17
Despite of the closer to citizens decision mechanism, there are some critics concerning the application of
metropolitan governance. Hence, Jouve and Lefvre consider that in fact there are not citizens implicated in
decision-making process, but only some persuasive representatives of private sector and some influential
political leaders, and this beside the reinforcement of neoliberal hegemony and in the disadvantage of local
democracy. Bernard Jouve and Christian Lefvre, The organisation of government in European metropolitan
area in Revista de Economia Publica Urbana, 6/2006, p. 92. If we think to the situation of the states where
civil society is weak, the two authors seem to be completly right. However, considering only one example, that
of the former communist states, and especially of Romania, the staments of Jouve and Lefvre could be
nuanced in the following manner: when the civil society is immature, the risk of unbalanced relationship
between decision-makers and citizens is greater; if civil society is immature and market economy is at its
beginnings, this could create confusions on the role of privat sector in decision-making process; if civil society
is weak, market economy and democracy are developping and political class is corrupted or highly
unprincipled, the risks of bad application and functionning of metropolitan governance (based mainly on the
principle of subsidiarity, and so on a large civil participation in decision-making process, impossible to realise
with a unconvincing civil society), is really full-sized. The main benefits of these unbalances will go
especially to some representatives of privat economic sector and to a small group of political actors. In the
equation of metropolitan governance citizens will have both a poor role and very small benefices: they will
have to please with salaries (regularly very small) and some insignificant gratuities like transportation or
restaurant tickets, but their communities will develop not faster or better. Metropolitan areas, in their turn, in
their inner competition for investors, will accept to decrease prices for rent lands, to not negotiate some
corporate social responsabilities, to postpone the great objectives of macro- and integrated development and to
consider the only benefit of a smaller unemployment rate. Some failures presented by Jouve and Lefvre (p.
94-95) concern either the type of community where almost one of the above-mentioned unbalances is present
(Italy), either some welfare states, where citizens enjoy many benefits and more competition is considered as
useless and exhausting (Denmark, Netherland). As conclusion, economy was all the time necessary for
citizens in order to improve their life. When economic sector developed in the damage of citizens, they
invented unions and situation corrected (not perfected). In the context of globalisation, economic environment
knew different challenges and need to find solution in order to maintain its benefits, and one of these solutions
is metropolitan areas. This not means that is in charge of economic sector to find better solutions for metros,
but it is in charge of politics, at national and local level, and of civil society to better negotiate how economics
assumes the local, regional or even national particularities. Competition between metros to attire investors is
great, but it is important to remember that competition between economic actors is great too, and any
economic actor should be replaced with another. It is well-known, the economics is more dynamic than
politics, but if politics doesnt learn to negotiation in the public benefit, the citizens are disadvantaged.
18
Jouve and Lefvre, op. cit., p. 108
19
METREX, The Metropolitan Dimension, p. 10, http://www.eurometrex.org/Docs/METRO-D/Metrop
olitan-Dimension.pdf
85
establish connections with similar or complementary partners, to realise networks that will
help them to improve their economic potential
20
. In another perspective, the key
characteristics of a metropolitan area are: population mass, good transportation and
communication connectivity, distinctive identity, recognition of the value of metropolitan
collaboration, collective marketing, influence on strategic decision-making, support for its
initiatives and activities, integrated strategies, collective decision-making and governance,
proximity, cooperation, complementarism.
21

In European Union there are several same cities that developed in the sense of
metropolisation: Manchester, Barcelona, Glasgow, London, Paris, Hannover, Stuttgart,
Munich, Milan and some others too.
22
There are, generally the capitals of different states,
but this is not a rule, some of these cities being the most important cities of some regions
or their capitals, or, although rather occasionally, some rural entities whose natural
resources and infrastructures allow them to benefit for international economic
development.
23
Vives and Torras consider that urban development concern either highly
diversified large city either Highly specialised middle-sized city (cluster) integrated into
the production phase.
24
As regarding the concept of integration, this is working in a
double direction: from (urban or rural) communities to economic environment, as Vives
and Torras suggested before, and from decision-makers to the communities. The last
situation is generated by the key-function of metropolitan governance, that is
integration, that means that Social, economic, environmental and spatial planning
(including transportation and infrastructure) functions all share a common interest in
metropolitan futures. It is the attribution of local or regional metropolitan governance,
giving to its closeness to governed area, to be more prospective, to be more dynamic than
political and national governance
25
.
In the absence of some national strategies regarding the regional growth, most
frequent are the situations when the only possibility to improve the developing capacity of
an urban area is to get better transport connections with abroad rural area or with some
isolated places, in order to better exploit the local human and/or natural resources
26
. The
results of this very dynamic manner to organise the rural or urban communities life
should be, beside the economic increasing level, the improvement of social inclusion and

20
A very important concept is that of One day business trip, i.e. to meet business partners in short time no
matter which way of access is used. Consequently, the role of transport infrastructure becomes essential for
the economic development of localities and regions, whatever it is about national or transnational linkages.
However, The possibilities for one-day trips from or to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria,
Greece, and Turkey do not exist. ESPON, Territorial dynamics in Europe, p. 36.
21
METREX, op.cit. p. 18-19
22
ESPON, Territorial dynamics in Europe,p. 33, 35-36. It is expected for 2020 that approximately 80% of
Europeans to live in the cities. If this urban development will be not correctly managed, its effects on
environment and agricultural lands could be extremely negative. See European Environment Agency, Urban
sprawl in Europe. The ignored challenge in EEA Report, no. 10/2006, pp. 5, 28-31,
http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2006_10
23
ESPON, op.cit., p. 33
24
Xavier Vives, Lluis Torrens, The strategies of metropolitan areas in the context of European Union
Enlargement, Pla Estrategic Metropolita de Barcelona, 2005, p. 7, http://www.pemb.cat/wp-
content/uploads/2011/04/2__The_strategies_of_European_Metropolitan_Areas.pdf
25
METREX, op.cit.,p. 3-4
26
It is the case of North Yorkshire, in UK, of Chelmsko-Zamojki, in Poland, of Jnkping, in Sweden, La
Rioja, in Spain, where authorities token the advantages of the regions by creating rural business clusters in
order either to attract tourists, either to exploit the natural potential of the place and hence to stop the
demographic decline. ESPON, op.cit., p. 43, 45

86
vivid cultural life
27
. Expectances are, it is obviously, great, and deceptions are often the
same.

The phenomenon of metropolisation in Romania
The fall of the communist regime and transition process determined difficulties
for Romanian society generally, and for its cities alike, may be in a more deep way. In one
of its hierarchisation of European cities, EU considered majority of Romanian cities as
situated in the category of those with complex shrinkage, where both demographic and
economic decline can be experienced, and in need of new strategies concerning their
economic orientation as solution for their reinforcement and transformation in the terms of
polycentric Europe.
28
One of these strategies considered by Romanian cities will be the
establishment of metropolitan areas, a new concept and reality for the post-communist
authorities, but adopted as a solution for the economic and social decline of the period of
transition.
Giving to the efforts to achieve the European integration, Romania elaborated the
necessary legal framework that offers to municipalities the judicial basis to create and
make functional the metropolitan areas. Consequently, Romanian metropolitan areas
established by top-down initiative, giving to the necessity to attract and use the Structural
Funds for 2007-2013 financial cycle. Hence, the central government established seven
regions and their growth pole cities, leaving them the possibility to establish their own
metropolitan areas, outside any given standard except the territorial continuity, a
minimum of three members, and adoption of an integrated development plan
29
. So, in
2006 Romania accounted eight urban centres considered as metropolitan zones, the capital
included. At the time, they concentrated 32.6% from the country population and reached
a level of 46,1 of GDP per head (while at national level GDP value was 38% and in
non-metropolitan area reached 31%). In the same time, the capital offered a particular
situation, here the GDP per capita being more than the double of the national average
30
.
The first Romanian metropolitan areas were established following the Law no.
351/2001, on the Landscaping of the National Territory. The Law 351/2001, art. 7(2),
stipulated that Romanian metropolitan areas have not legal personality, and in Annex I it
defined these as the district issued by association, based on voluntarly partnership
between the large urban centres (Romania capital and first rank municipalities
31
) and
urban and rural entities from the immediate vicinity, no more that 30km distance for, that
developed multilevel cooperation relationships
32
. Another Law, 215/2001, of local public
administration, art. 11(2), suggested that metropolitan areas have to be established with
the express agreement of the local councils of the component territorial-administrative
units, and to have as objective to get better the common infrastructures and to develop the

27
Hahn, op.cit.,p. 1
28
European Union.Directorate General for Regional Policy, p. 17, 55
29
Eurocities, op.cit., p. 25
30
Lewis Dijkstra, Metropolitan regions in the EU in European Union Region Policy, no. 01, 2009, p. 2-5,
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/focus/2009_01_metropolitan.pdf. At European level,
metro regions produced 67% of European GDP. J. Hahn, p. 2
31
According to the Law 351/2001, art. 2b, first rank cities are considered cities of national importance, with
potential influence in Europe. Law no. 351 of 6 Julie 2001 privind aprobarea Planului de amenajare a
teritoriului naional - Seciunea a IV-a - Reeaua de localiti, http://www.cdep.ro/pls/legis/legis
_pck.htp_act_text?idt=28862
32
The Law no. 351,July, 6, 2001
87
objectives of common interest
33
. Next year, the Ordinance 53/2002 on the Status of the
administrative-territorial unit, defined the Romanian territorial units and established (art.
4(3)) that the communes around Bucharest and those around of municipalities could
organise as metropolitan areas of municipalities, according to the law
34
.
As we stated before, the Law351/2001 didnt confer legal personality, which is
really necessary for the contractual activities of the metropolitan area. As we stated
before, the Law351/2001 didnt confer legal personality, which is really necessary for the
contractual activities of the metropolitan area. This situation was surpassed initialy by the
Ordinance 26/2000 on Foundations and Associations, that stipulates that Physical and
juridical persons that intend to develop some activities which follow the general interest of
local communities or are following their own non-patrimonial interest, could establish
associations or foundations under the given conditions of the present ordinance
35
. Some
years after, theEU financed project Associations for intercomunitarian development an
instrument for common deliver, in good quality and efficacity conditions, of local public
facilitiesdeveloped by the Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs, in cooperation
with Association of Communes from Romania, helped the associative process
36
. So, the
metropolitan areas transformed (and the new ones established) as a type of NGOs,
Associations for Intercomunitarian Development, agreed by a new Romanian law,
51/2006, on communitarian services and public utilities
37
.The article 10 of this law
stipulated that Two or more administrative-territorial units may, in the limits of their
deliberative and executive competences andin the limits of the law, to cooperate and to
associate with the purpose to establish associations for intercomunitarian development
having as object of activity the common purveyance and/or the development of
community services and of public utilities and the establishment, modernization and/or
development, as the case may be, of the necessary public utilities
38
. Following the
adoption of this legislative framework they begin to appear the first trials to create
metropolitan areas: Bucharest (initiated in 2003 but active since 2011), Iai (2004),
Ploieti (initiated 2004, active since 2007), Braov, Oradea (2005), Timioara (debates
began in 2006, but low active yet), Trgu Mure (2005), Bacu, Arad (2006). However,
only few months later, a new law, 286/2006, will impede some cities and municipalities to
continue their metropolisation projects because the new law imposed some clear
characteristics for the subjects of metropolitan area: to be realised by Romanias capital
and by first rank municipalities and their neighbouring localities.
39
Hence, according to
the law 351/2001, the only first rank municipalities were: Bacu, Braov, Brila, Galai,
Cluj-Napoca, Constana, Craiova, Iai, Oradea, Ploieti, and Timioara. In the last years

33
The Law no. 215, April, 23, 2001, Legea administraiei publice locale, http://www.cdep.ro/
pls/legis/legis_pck.htp_act_text?idt=27123
34
O.G. no. 53, August, 16, 2002, Statutul-cadru al unitii administrativ-teritoriale, http://www.lege-
online.ro/lr-ORDONANTA-53-2002-(38139).html
35
Ordonana nr. 26/2000 cu privire la asociaii i fundaii (published in O. M. no. 39/31 January 2000),
http://legislatie.resurse-pentru-democratie.org/26_2000.php
36
Asociaiile de Dezvoltare Intercomunitar. Instrument pentru furnizarea n comun, n condiii de calitate i
eficacitate, a serviciilor publice in Despre proiect. Informaii generale, www.dezvoltareintercomunitara.
ro/articol/205/informatii-generale.html
37
This only one way to develop metropolitan areas is the incontestable evidence of the up-to-down process of
metropolisation in Romania.
38
Legea 51/2006 privind serviciile comunitare de utiliti publice, O. M. no. 254 / 21 mar. 2006,
http://www.dreptonline.ro/monitorul_oficial/monitor_oficial.php?id_monitor=1215
39
Legea nr.286/2006 pentru modificarea i completarea Legii administraiei publice locale nr. 215/2001
(published n O. M. nr. 621/ 18 Julie 2006), http://legislatie.resurse-pentru-democratie.org/286_2006.php

88
more metropolitan areas started their activities: Craiova (initiated in 2009 but active since
2012), Constana (2009), Cluj-Napoca (2011), Piteti, Baia Mare (the last being
established in April 2012, but already very active), Rmnicu Vlcea (2013)
40
. For all
above-mentioned metropolitan areas, when data were found, the main reasons to establish
were: territorial planning; sectorial policies concerning economic development,
insfrastructures, utilities and public services; (co)sponsorship for prioritary programs or
for common projects; fiscality of properties and the management of real estatepatrimony;
environment protection; institutional systematizing and human resources development;
different actions concerning particularities of the region. However, the intensity of their
activities is enough different: when some metropolitan areas as Iai, Oradea or even the
recent Baia-Mare already developed numerous activities and are perceived by the
communities as a factor of progress for their region, some others either developed
important activities but these are associated rather with the municipal council and the
mayor (as is the case for Arad), either they are functionning only at a very low level
(many others). Hence, consequently to the continuous improvement of the legal
framework and giving to their own activities, although a law on the metropolitan areas
was not adopted yet, some of metropolitan areas (the most active of them) succeed to
obtain enough influence in their zone, to develop their own projects in collaboration with
different major institutions from their proximity (universities, some economic actors,
municipalities, communes, other intercommunitarian associations, etc.) and so to play a
role in the public life of their communities, beside the other key actors of the public life.
More that, following the principle of subsidiarity (and with the help of the related
ministry), in the framework of metropolitan areas developed some others associations for
intercomunitarian development, acting in different fields of activity of metropolitan areas:
hydrographic and sewer system; transportation; road infrastructure, day centers for erderly
people, integrated waste management, integrated tourism services, integrated public health
services, sustainable local development, cultural activities
41
Although less visible for
citizens, these could play some important roles for communities, but all is depending by
the involved human ressource, by its capabilities in the field of project management or
related areas, by its vision, by its professionalism. However, whatever important is the
general matter of metropolitan areas, we are especially interested in those of them
(Satu-Mare, Oradea, Arad, Timioara, Giurgiu, Galai-Brila, Iai) that possess the
geographic potential to develop at transborder level, following the successful examples of
Nancy-Metz-Luxembourg-Sarrebruck
42
; Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai
43
; Copenhagen-Malmo;
Vienna-Bratislava-Gyor-Brno
44
or other transfrontalier metropolitan areas.

Borderland and the challenge of metropolisation
Only two decenies ago the national Romanias boundaries had nothing else
signification, both for economic actors and for border cities and their communities, than

40
These data were obtained from the websites of metropolitan areas or from journal articles of local media.
41
Asociaiile de Dezvoltare Intercomunitar. Instrument pentru furnizarea n comun, n condiii de calitate i
eficacitate, a serviciilor publice inBaza de date, www.dezvoltareintercomunitara.ro/baza-de-date.html
42
Morriset, op. cit., p. 247-248
43
44
See European Union. Directorate General for Regional Policy, p. 85.
89
the key limitation to their ability to act appropriately
45
. The access to EU opened
unimagined opportunities both for citizens as for the administrative entities situated in the
neighbouringofphysical or commercial borders. Being part in the Euroregions,
establishing local and regional partnerships in Euroregional or microregional framework,
some of these became an usual objective and part of the everyday life of borderland
administrations and sometimes of communities too. Cities like Iai, Galai, Brila,
Giurgiu, Timioara, Arad and Oradea, giving to their geographical positions, have
numerous possibilities to develop transborder metropolitan areas or at least crossborder
cooperation activities in the framework of Euroregions they are members, and some of
them are in an enough advanced phase (as for example Oradea, with its Hungarian
partner-city, Debrecen). Even so, despite of transfrontalier possibilitiesof development,
some of these cities are again less motivated to improve their activities related to the
already established metropolitan areas. It is not the case forSatu-Mare, where the
metropolitan project is just launched to public debate
46
, but it is for Timioara
47
,
Arad
48
,Giurgiu
49
,and Galai-Brila
50
. We consider this situation is not given to the
technical character of internal administrative structures of the given metropolitan areas,
which have all almost the same typology, but rather to the human ressources associated
both in metropolitan and administrative structures.These failures could have as basis the
disrespect of some very important rules in establishing the metropolitan areas: i./ avoiding

45
46
Atelier de lucru - strategie de dezvoltare regional n perspectiva programelor 2014-2020,
http://www.satu-mare.ro/stiri/elaborare-strategie-de-dezvoltare-regionala-in-perspectiva-programelor-2014-
2020&page=1
47
Because of stagnation of metropolisation project: actually, on the web page of the town hall it is possible to
found information only about the integrated development plan. See Plan Integrat
deDezvoltare,http://www.primariatm.ro/index.php?meniuId=2&viewCat=2686.According to some
newspaper articles, this stagnation is because of the lack of interest of some communes to be part
inmetropolitan area.This couldseem illogic, however the restreint local or, wronger, personal interest is
sometime more important than the common good.
48
After the debates of 2006, any information about a new metropolisation project was found. The
metropolisation of this area should be possible in a accelerate manner if a partnership with Timioara will be
considered. However, as for another metropolitan area, Galai-Brila, for Arad-Timioara political vanities are
a serious obstacle for the metropolisation process.
49
This borderland city didnd accomplish the necessary criteria in order to develop a metropolitan area, but it
is possible to be part of Bucharest Metropolitan Area if the extension projects of this metropolitan area will
succeed. Maria Manoliu, Proiectul zonei metropolitane Bucureti-Ilfov. Zona se va ntinde pn la DUNRE
i va fi condus de un GUVERNATOR, http://www.gandul.info/news/exclusiv-proiectul-zonei-
metropolitane-bucuresti-ilfov-zona-se-va-intinde-pana-la-dunare-si-va-fi-condusa-de-un-guvernator-8336003
50
Metropolitan Area Galai-Brila or Dunrea de Jos is one of the biggest failures in establishing a
metropolitan area. Although debates started so early and between the two cities are only 10 kilometers, until
today any project was developed (according with the information found on the web page of metropolitan area,
http://zmgb.ro/ro/). Autoritile din Galai i Brila au ratat 200 de milioane de euro i crearea a 10.000 de
locuri de munc din cauza orgoliilor politice, http://adevarul.ro/locale/galati/autoritatile-galati-braila-ratat-
200-milioane-euro-crearea-10000-locuri-munca-cauza-orgoliilor-politice-
1_50ad906c7c42d5a6639761fd/index.html. For this region difficulties of metropolisation are given both to
local political vanities and to many similarities between the two cities: both are portuary cities, with the same
harbor potential, and consequently in deep competition for the same type of ressources and clients, necessary
to deserve almost the same regions or part of them, Wallachia and Moldavia. We consider that all these
economic aspects could be solved by feasability studies and by mutual agreements, but subsidiary the most
important obstacle for the two cities is the misunderstanding of urban multipolarism. On the other hand, it is
possible that some information are not public: first trials to consolidate this metros were less institutionalised
and rather personalised, and this represented the basis of numerous vanities and of conviction that the given
project will advantage only one part.

90
the unbalanced partnerships (when one of beneficiary adopt or is considered to do
it the role of big brother); ii./ maintaining the agreements despite some unsuccesful
projects; iii./ involving economic actors, civil society and citizens alike; iv./ assuming
clear and specific attributions by the core cities.
51

Among the above-mentioned cities there are two that noticeable distinguish from
others giving to their intense activities both in the space of their own metropolitan area
and in that of cross-border cooperation: Oradea (ZMO) and Iai (ZMI). Situated on
Western and respectively Eastern border of Romania (at 15 and respectively 24 kilometers
far away from customs), the two metropolitan areas established more or less in the same
time: ZMO at 09 May 2005 and ZMI at 08 April 2004
52
. At the present time ZMO is
composed by twelve members (one municipality) and ZMI by fifteen founder members
and five observer members
53
. Regarding the surface, the two metropolitan areas are
comparable, ZMO possessing 753.25km
2
(61.9% representing farm land), and ZMI 808
km
2
(with 506 km
2
farm land)
54
.
The both metros possess a very good access to national and pan-european roads,
although the ZMO competitive advantage is represented by the insignificant distance to
western Romanian border, beyond which there are the more developed economies and
markets. This particularity produces effects in the objectives of two metros: ZMO
mentions amongst objectives its development to a sustainable transfrontalier major
polycentric position, while ZMI is focused particularly on its national development
possibilities, although the cross-border cooperation and projects are considered
55
. This
situation is completely understandable, the ZMO neighbour being a EU member country,
that is offering many development and partnership possibilities
56
, while ZMI neighbour is

51
Eurocities, op. cit., p. 27-28
52
This difference probably was given by some problems caused by the process of institutionalisation, because
Oradea firstly realised the necessary methodology for drawing up the documentations for the planning of the
territories of metropolitan areas, used by municipality of Iai in establishment of ZMI. GRASP, Zona
Metropolitan Iai. Studiu de caz, footnote 43, 25, 2004, http://www.zmi.ro/pdf/dezvoltare_
metropolitana.pdf.
53
The documents of ZMI dont explain the role of observer members, but it seems that they are the potential
future members of metropolitan area. nc o comun n Zona Mteropolitan Iai 06/12/2012, http://curierul-
iasi.ro/inca-o-comuna-in-zona-metropolitana-iasi-7357.
54
Zona Metropolitan Oradea, Strategia de dezvoltare a Zonei Metropolitane Oradea,
http://www.zmo.ro/strategiidedezvoltare/upload/doc/56-diagnostic%20ZMO.pdf
55
Idem, Scurt istoric, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/despre-noi/scurt-istoric; Obiective de dezvoltare,
http://www.zmi.ro/obiective_dezvoltare.html
56
One of them could be considered the project Thinking the future together. The Debrecen-Oradea Cross-
border agglomeration (2020), initialised in 2007 by a group of researchers from the University of Oradea.
Started with a study about the advantages of establishment of an urban agglomeration between the two cities,
from the point of view of economic development, infrastructure and education especially, the project DebOra
was not continued because of some national and especially local vanities. Being the only such approach, we
consider it as really visionary for the future development of the region if political decision-makers will
reconsider it. Universitatea Oradea. Institutul de Studii Euroregionale Oradea-Debrecen. Fundaia Forum,
Thinking the future together. The Debrecen-Oradea Cross-border agglomeration (2020), 2007.Studies
concerning this project: Constantin oca and Ioan Horga, Sociological Research. Thinking the future
together.The Debrecen-Oradea Cross-border agglomeration, in Neighbours and partners. On the two sodes of
the border, ed Istvn Sli-Zakar, Debrecen, 2008; Adrian-Claudiu Popoviciu and Constantin oca,
Romanian-Hungarian cross-border cooperation through a possible EGTC Oradea-Debrecen, in Regional and
cohesion policy. Insight into the role of the partnership principle in the new policy design, Oradea-Debrecen,
2011; Constantin-Vasile oca, Adrian-Claudiu Popoviciu, The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation
(EGCT), instrument of cross-border cooperation. Case study Romania-Hungary in Eurolimes, vol. 10,The
geopolitics of European frontiers, OradeaUniversity Press-Bruyllant, Autumn 2010.Although only in a project
stage, the proximity of Oradea and Debrecen produced results in terms of shopping tourism, which is enough
91
only a European Neighbourhood Policy beneficiary country, with smaller finnancial
opportunities and more rigid bureaucratic framework. Even for the future, when after
accession to the Schengen space the cross-border character of ZMO will change in its
nature, ZMI, by its geographical position, will maintain longer in the same type of
asymmetrical cross-border partnership. From this perspective, the opportunities to develop
in the sense of the policentrism are greater for ZMO, when for ZMI this perspective is
almost nonexistent.The main result of this major difference consist in the: i./ typology of
the objectives (ZMO focuses especially on economics, from an international perspective,
when ZMI is stresses particularly on local modernisation); ii./ typology of financement
projects (ZMO realised more in number
57
, many of them focusing on transfrontalier
cooperation
58
, when ZMI developed few projects and only three of them has a
transfrontalier character
59
; iii./ enduring a public leadership strategy from the part of
ZMO
60
.
Regarding the organisational level, the two metropolitan areas choose different
manners to arrange their decisional, executive and consultative teams. From this
perspective, the both metropolitan areas have a enough hierarchised structure, but with
some differences. So, ZMO seems more democratic giving to its General Assembly of
Associates, which is the supreme governing body and is composed by three
representatives of every member and nine for municipality. At the same level ZMI
established the Metropolitan Council, where decision-makers are the mayor of
municipality, the President of County Council and one of the mayors of member localities.
The second position belongs to Council Directory for ZMO, composed by all the mayors
of metropolitan area, and to the Agency for Metropolitan Development for ZMI, an
executive body that seems to accomplish a technocratic role. Beginning from this stage
ZMO maintain again vertically hierarchised, while ZMI seems to be rather horisontalised.
For ZMO the next decision-maker is represented by Deliberative Councils (wich are not
defined), and by Technical and Operational Staff. For ZMI, starting with the third level,
the organisational chart became horizontal, between the Association ZMI, the Technical

well developed both in Oradea and Debrecen. Tmri, Mihly. The Role of DebOra Cross-Border
Eurometropolis in the Hungarian-Romanian CBC relations. A case study of Shopping Tourism in Debrecen
and Oradea, in Eurolimes. Leaders of the Borders, Border os the Leaders, eds Cristina-Maria Dogot, Philippe
Perchoc and Tks Tibor, pp. 170-178. Oradea-Debrecen, Spring 2011. Another project, most advanced, is
that of the counties Bihor and Hajd, which developed a common project concerning the development of
tourism in the mentioned area. Hajd-Bihar and Bihor counties, http://www.bihar-bihor.eu/en
57
On the web page of ZMO we counted twentyseven projects, from which ten are already implemented in the
period 2006-2012, seven will be implemented in the period 2011-2014, and ten were or will be implemented
in partnership with local authorities in the period 2012-2014. See Proiecte implementate,
http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/proiecte/proiecte-implementate;Proiecte n curs de implementare,
http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/proiecte/proiecte-in-curs-de-implementare; Proiecte implementate n
colaborare cu autoritile locale membre, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/proiecte/proiecte-in-curs-de-
implementare.
58
From this perspective we counted seventeen projects where ZMO collaborate with Hungarian pertners (six
already implemented, five under implementation and 6 impemented or under implementation in partnership
with some members of ZMO). Beside of these, ZMO was partner in one project financed by URBACT, in one
project financed by European Regional Development Fund and in one financed by Operational Program South
East Europe.
59
Proiecte transfrontaliere, http://www.zmi.ro/proiecte_transfrontaliere.html
60
Hence, ZMO proposed to create its urbanistic identity by a due signposting, by advertising and unitary
promoting of the zone and of metropolitan area; to establish of a brand of ZMO and to promote it on the
market following a coherent strategy. The expected results of this type of actions should be an increasing
number of private foreign investors. Scurt istoric, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/despre-noi/scurt-istoric.

92
and the Consultative Commissions existing a collaborative relationship. For ZMO, the
Deliberative Council are followed by Technical and Operational Staff, in fact those who
are really working and ensure the fitting together of all the component parts. According
with information offered by the webpage of ZMO, it appear that the partnership with
business environment and citizens is not highly institutionalised, being difficult to
understood when collaboration with private bodies and citiznes intervene. For ZMI,
private actors and citizens are part of collaboration process thathappen at the third level of
decision-making (Consultative Comissions and Citizens Commisions).
61
It is difficult to
assert that the different manner to organise of the two metropolitan areas influenced their
dynamics, especially because the most important team in their organisational chart is the
technical and operational staff, which is preparing the financement projects and are
following their implementation. Very important is, this is more that obvious, the political
will of the representatives of municipality and member localities, and the examples of
failed metros really put into evidence its major necessity both for launching and
developing the metropolitan areas in a high efficient manner.

Final remarks
If at the end of Second World War the welfare state concept appeared to be the
solution for the communities that suffered the damages of war, for the damages of
globalisation a new concept could be considered as proper to use, it is that of welfare
cities. And these cities that offer welfare they have rapidly issued, although they was not
every time and in any place able to follow their objectives and decisional system.
As we stated before, post-communist and in-globalised Romania considered the
new model of development as a good to follow one. In this moment, although
metropolitan areas exist, develop their own structures, and some of them represent a real
basis for economic and social progress of their region, in Romania it is early to discuss
about metropolitan governance, and this even though most of metropolitan areas appear to
be as enough technocratic or at least highly specialised ones. The main reasons of this
midway between former political and administrative governance of the communities and
the technocratic leadership reside both in the centralist and industrialist reminiscences
(both at theoretic as at practicel level) of communist period and in some
misunderstandings of transition time. On the other hand, the so short time when these
practices began to be used has its role to play. The main characteristics of metropolitan
governance, i.e. the institutional continuum or the high coordination of the more
numerous administrative institutions; the decision-making process based on consensus and
the vote of majority of the institutions set up by state or regional law and those of
voluntary nature; the different attributions for different institutional levels; and the
diversity of finnancing sources and the suffisant financial autonomy
62
, are sometimes
disrupted in their integrality of functionning by political parties will or interests.

61
See Adunarea General a Asociailor, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/despre-noi/adunarea-generala-a-
asociatilor; Consiliul Director, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/despre-noi/consiliu-director; Aparat tehnic
i operaional, http://www.zmo.ro/ro/index.php/despre-noi/aparat-tehnic-si-operational; Organizare,
http://www.zmi.ro/organizare_zona_metropolitana_iasi.html; Zona Metropolitan Iai. Studiu de caz, p. 35,
59-60, http://www.zmi.ro/organizare_zona_metropolitana_iasi.html.
62
European metropolitan agglomeration in Papers 50, p. 227, http://www.iermb.uab.es/htm/revistaPapers
_numeros.asp?id=55
93
However, despite of any disfunctionality or some lack or performances, giving to
their novelty in the public sphere the metropolitan areas enjoy again a very good image
both at the level of public opinion and media. Because their ressources of confidence are
not yet burned, expectances are extremely large toward the metropolitan area, as a
compensation for the dissapointments produced by political groups. Metropolitan areas
are perceived as a materialisation of specialisation, of technocracy, of a more rational
approach of the public life than that of politicians, although politicians are again presents
in metropolitan areas. Voluntarily or not, consciously or not, for the public opinion
metropolitan areas represents the image of public management both as theory and as
practice. It would be shame to fail in this new approach of the public affairs, and the
failure examples bringed out one ore the necessity to a new type of leadership and
management, at least at the local level: a leadership based on expertise and scientific
approach of the public life of communities.

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dedezvoltare/upload/doc/56.

THE COMMUNITY-INTERGOVERNMENTAL METHOD DIALECTIC
OF THE EU BLUE CARD AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF LANGUAGE:
EVIDENCE FROM FILIPINO NURSES IN BILBAO,
THE BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN

*

Abstract: How does the tension between the community and intergovernmental method of
the Blue Cardwould affect the migration of prospective foreign nurses to the EU? The EU
Blue Card is introduced in 2009 to attract high skilled immigrants as Europes health
workforce is rapidly aging. This case studyanalyses the experience of Filipino nurses in
Bilbao in the Basque Country region of Spain, documented in articles, surveys and
interviews. Examining the provisions of the EU Blue Card system, the community
approach (i.e. 1.5 times salary, family reunification, circular migration) versus the
intergovernmental approach (i.e. accreditation of qualifications, language requirements)
nexus of the EU Blue Card will pose a problem as immigration policies are fragmented
and still much rest with member states. Moreover, language issues will complicate the
integration of foreign nurses into their host society and workplaces. Results show thatfor
Filipino nurses under the Spain-Philippines bilateral agreement, theirnursing
qualifications in Spain have to be accredited, but this proves to be difficult as the
examinations are in Spanish. They would then have to receive a lower salary and work
below their qualifications. Ironically, proof of Spanish language proficiency is not needed
to obtain Spanish citizenship. It is seen that foreign nurses might not choose to go to
Europe because ofspaghetti bowl immigration policies, and above all, language skill
requirements. The EU should then have only one common policyfor foreign nurses,
coming from abroad, and provide them with adequate language support, so as to entice
them to work and stayin Europe.

Keywords: Filipino, nurse, role of language, Blue Card

*
Research intern, MA, European Center for Minority Issues, Flensburg, Germany,
e-mail: hansenverga@yahoo.com.sg.
Acknowledgment: I would like to thank Dr. Alexandre Kostka, Dr. Jan Stejskal and Dr. Asier Altuna of the
Erasmus Mundus Masters in Euroculture consortium for their comments on this paper.

98
The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.
Winston Churchill

1. Introduction
According to the European Commission Green Paper on the European Health
Workforce (2008), Europes population is suffering from double-aging (increased life
expectancy coupled with a decreasing birth rate), including its health workforce. To
illustrate it, between 1995 and 2000, nearly half of the nurses in five Member States are
aged over 45. But as thesestaff approach retirement age, they need to be replaced by
younger recruits. By 2020 there will be a shortage of 590,000 nurses, 230,000 doctors and
150,000 allied health professionals (pharmacists, physiotherapists, etc.). Europe then must
import its health workers from 3rd countries to stay competitive in this era of a
knowledge-based economy.
In May 2009, after much debate, the European Council adopted the EU Blue Card
directive to build a channel of targeted, legal migration, making Europe more attractive.
Based on the U.S. Green Card, the European Union hopes to attract high skilled labor, in
particular the health sector by offering a premium salary, family reunification, equal
treatment, among others. E.U. Justice commissioner Franco Frattini said that 85% of
global unskilled labor goes to the E.U. and only 5% to the U.S., whereas 55% of qualified
migrants head for the U.S. and only 5% to Europe
1
. By comparison, the percentage of
foreign skilled workers in the E.U.'s overall market is just 1.74%, far behind other rich
economies like Australia (9.9%), Canada (7.3%), the U.S. (3.2%) and Switzerland (5.3%).
This is of particular interest to the Philippines, currently the largest exporter of
nurses in the world. The Philippines is also the largest exporter of nurses to the OECD
(around 110,000 nurses)
2
. As the demand is declining in the U.S. and the Middle East, the
Philippines, with a huge surplus of nurses, is forced to look for new markets. The EU Blue
Card opens the door for more Filipino nurses to work in Europe. Filipino nurses are not
new in Europe as thousands are already working in the U.K. and even Austria- where
German is the working language
3
. But how does the tension between the community and
intergovernmental method of the EU Blue Cardwould affect the migration of prospective
foreign nurses to the EU? In addition, Filipino nurses who want to work in Europe via the
EU Blue Card should learn the language of the Member State. Ironically, the current
global financial crisis and economic downturn in Europe are making countries to curb
immigration despite the clear demand for health workers and their positive economic
impact at the national and European level
4
.
As for the methodology, this case study explores the experience of Filipino nurses
in Bilbao, in the Basque Country Region of northern Spain (under a bilateral agreement on
migration), documented in articles, surveys and interviews. Examining the provisions of

1
Leo Cendrowicz, A green light for EUs Blue Card inTime, 24 October 2007, http://www.time.com/time/
world/article/0,8599,1674962,00.html, accessed 6 January 2012
2
OECD, Immigrant Health Workers in OECD Countries in the Broader Context of High Skilled Migration
2007, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/22/32/41515701.pdf , accessed 4 April 2012
3
AgnieszkaMakulekandPaweKaczmarczyk, National Profile of Migration of Health Professionals: Austria,
Warsaw University Centre of Migration Research, 2011, http://www.mohprof.eu/LIVE/DATA/Country_
profiles/Austria.pdf, accessed 2 May 2012
4
Centre de Documentation sur les Migrations Humaines, Migration and Democracy Conference Proceedings,
June 2012, Luxembourg, http://www.cdmh.lu/resources/pdf/_base_news/5718436630English_Information.
pdf, accessed 5 April 2012
The Community - Intergovernmental Method Dialectic of the EU Blue Card .
99
the EU Blue Card system, the supranational-national nexus will pose a problem as
immigration policies are fragmented and still much rest with member states. In addition, it
will be argued in the case study that language issues will complicate the integration of
foreign nurses into their host society and workplaces.
This research is significant because prospective Filipino nurses who might want to
work in Europe via the EU Blue Card can learn from the experiences of Filipino nurses in
Bilbao under the 2006 Spain-Philippines bilateral agreement on migration flows. Also,
recommendations are given at the end so the EU Blue Card can be implemented smoothly.

2. Theoretical Framework: The Community- Intergovernmental Nexus of the
EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card: Community Method
The EU Blue Card Directive (Council Directive 2009/50/EC) puts in place
common and efficient rules that allow highly skilled people from outside Europe to come
and work in the EU labor market, filling gaps that cannot be filled by EU nationals. It
establishes a fast-track admission procedure for these foreigners and ensures a common
set of social and economic rights, such as equal treatment with nationals as regards
working conditions and pay, as well as access to goods and services
5
.
In effect, the Blue Card aims to manage high skilled migration at the the
supranational level. The EU Blue Card defines a highly skilled worker as someone who is
from a 3
rd
country possessing a college diploma or 5 years of occupational training, with
a job contract or job offer and a health insurance
6
. The EU Blue Card (2011) also sets
common rules for the member states to follow: First, as a matter of principle, the Blue
Card holder is entitle to work and reside in the member state concerned. Second, the gross
annual annual salary should be 1.5 times higher than the gross salary in the member state
concerned (EC Blue Card Directive, article no.22). Third, the Blue Card shall be valid for
1 to 4 years, and can lead to permanent residence after 5 years (art. no. 16). Fourth, they
are granted the same social and labor rights as citizens of the member state (tax benefits,
social assistance, etc.) (art. no. 18) including the right to family reunifcation after the 1
st

year (art. no.23).
Scrutinizing the policies, it is unlikely that employers will pay 1.5 times the salary
of a national to a foreign nurse with the ongoing financial crisis and soaring
unemployment rates across the EU. The European Unions Blue Card move towards a
points-based system is likely to favor skilled migrants at the cost of the unskilled, but
some of the provisions such as high salary requirements for foreign workers could make
entry difficult even for the highly educated
7
. Ironically, in Germany, the 1.5 times salary
threshold is too low for high skilled workers (pegged at 35,000 euros per year) because the

5
European Commission, Blue Card': Commission warns Member States over red tape facing highly qualified
migrants, 27 February 2012, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/167&type=
HTML, accessed 22 July 2012
6
European Council, EU Blue Card Directive, Official Journal of the European Union, 26 May 2009,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:155:0017:0029:en:PDFb, accessed 6
January
7
DilipRatha, SanketMohapatra and Ani Silwal, Migration Trends 2009, 3 November 2009,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/3349341110315015165/MigrationAndDevelo
pmentBrief11.pdf , accessed 21 July 2012
100
German government included part time and temporary employment in its calculations
8
.
This would not entice foreign nurses to work in Germany.
Interestingly, a moral dimension of the Community method in the EU Blue Card
System is the ethical recruitment of health workers from 3
rd
countries, so as to avert brain
drain in developing countries in Africa or Asia, for instance. The Blue Card aims to foster
the circular migration of 3
rd
country health professionals, where they leave their country
to gain experiences or additional knowledge and training and then return to their home
country
9
. For this reason, they can only work in Europe for up to 4 years. This provision is
interesing as this shows the realpolitik aspect (importation of workers to stay competitive)
and normative (stopping brain drain in developing countries) of the EU Blue Card.
Fortunately, the Philippines has a surplus of nurses with thousands of nursing students
graduating every year.
Pertaining to language skills, curiously, the EU Blue Card does not stipulate any
language requirement for foreign nurses to learn the language of the member state or any
language proficiency requirement. Ironically though, it has explicit linguistic restriction
for the families who would be joining the high skilled workers. As stated in Article 15(3)
of the EU Blue Card Directive: Member States [are not precluded] from maintaining or
introducing integration conditions and measures, including language learning, for the
members of the family of an EU Blue Card holder
10
.

Ironically, Spanish nurses learn painstakingly English only to go to the U.S. or the
UK and recently Finland, or French to go to France, where salaries are higher and working
conditions are better, then the EU sources its health workers from developing countries

8
Sabine Kinkartz, German Blue Card to simplify immigration, 28 April 2012, http://www.dw.de/
dw/article/0,,15915424,00.html, accessed 22 July 2012
9
European Commission, Green Paper on the European Workforce for Health, 10 December 2008,
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_systems/docs/workforce_gp_en.pdf, accessed 6 January 2012
10
European Council, EU Blue Card Directive in Official Journal of the European Union, 26 May 2009,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:155:0017:0029:en:PDFhttp://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:l:2009:155:0017:0029:en:PDF,accessed 8 May 2012
101
through the EU Blue Card.Currently, around half of foreign nurses in Spain (2,295 in
2008 or around a mere 1%) are from developing countries in Latin America, due to
historical links and cultural and language affinity,working in the private sector where
salaries are cheaper
11
. According to statistics, inflows of nurses to Spain from 3
rd
countries
are still greater than the outflow to EU countries (see figure)
12
.

The EU Blue Card System: I ntergovermental Method
As a matter of principle, Article 152 of the EC Treaty (2009) stresses that the
Community should encourage cooperation between the Member States and promote
coordination of their policies and programmesThe principal responsibility for
organizing and delivering health services lies with the Member States, but the EU has an
important role to play in supporting Member States and adding value such as through
networking and the sharing of good practice. The Directive provides common minimum
requirements for all Member States but each Member State remains free to apply rules
which are more favorable to the protection of workers, if it so wishes
13
.
To illustrate, each member state will maintain the right to determine the number
of immigrant workers that can be admitted into the domestic labor market through the
Blue Card. This is not an open doors policy...if a given member-state needs engineers or
doctors, it has to decide how many, and then it will provide a state with a common
procedure [according to EU Justice Commissioner Frattini]
14
. In addition, member states
view the Blue Card depending on their own national interest, as in the research of Cerna
(2010):
Some member states considered the Blue Card as an opportunity to shift the
balance between its migration types. Southern European countries, as well as Sweden,
currently accept more asylum seekers (or low-skilled workers) than high-skilled workers.
These countries would like to attract productive and politically less contested type of
migrants. France, Spain and Italy also supported the European Commissions directive for
an EU-wide Blue Card (Work Permit 2007). Officials at the French Ministry of
Immigration considered the EU Card better than their new skills and talent visa, which
had come into effect in 2007. Italy welcomed the directive, but believed that final text
should be braver. Besides the legal channels of immigration, there should be true and
effective free movement of workers of all on the European territory[Others] did not
want to let the EU dictate who they could and could not admit (e.g. the Netherlands and
the UK) The UK has already engaged in a reorientation toward high-skilled policy and
has developed an Australian-style points systemOther member states protected their

11
Meardi, Gugliemo, Mariona Lozano Riera, Antonio Artiles Martin,International Migration of Health
Workers: Can Spain Follow the British Steps?, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/research
/irru/publications/recentconf/irec_gm.pdf, accessed 26 April 2012
12
Beatriz Lopez-Valcareal, et.al., Mobility of Health Professionals: Evidence from 17 European Countries in
World Health Organization,European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Denmark:,2011,
p. 268, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/152324/e95812.pdf, accessed 4 May 2012
13
European Council, EU Blue Card Directive in Official Journal of the European Union, 26 May 2009,
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:155:0017:0029:en:PDFhttp://eurlex.europa
.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:l:2009:155:0017:0029:en:PDF, accessed 8 May 2012
14
Leo Cendrowicz, A green light for EUs Blue Card inTime, 24 October 2007, http://www.time.com/time/
world/article/0,8599,1674962,00.html, accessed 6 January 2012
102
native high-skilled workers and pointed to high national unemployment rates, despite
labor market shortages in some sectors (e.g. Germany)
15
.
By EU law, the Blue Card Directive was supposed to have been implemented in
June 2011, but member states are still struggling to implement it. According to Industry
Staffing Analysts (2011), the Netherlands appears to have implemented the directive, but
it requires that the employee has a minimum one-year contract for highly qualified
employment, earning at least 60,000 gross (in 2011). The employee must also have
completed a course of higher education lasting at least three years and submit a diploma to
be assessed by NUFFIC (Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in
Higher Education and Research). For regulated professions, a competent authority will
make admission decisions.While in France, the government is implementing the directive
in its own fashion. In addition to requiring a salary of at least 1.5 times the threshold
amount (47,898 euros a year or 3,991 euros per month in 2008), the Carte
BleueEuropenne will be limited to 3 years. Furthermore, applicants must have a higher
education of a least 3 years and 5 year experience in highly qualified employment.On the
other hand, the German Parliament voted to adopt the EU Blue Card but time limits on
residency permits and language skills for foreign high skilled workers via the Blue Card
were criticized. The new policy allows people looking for work to stay in Germany for up
to six months. Those who find a job that meets the minimum salary requirements can
remain for three years. If the card holder forms a lasting relationship at a company, he or
she can acquire permanent residency. Either way, workers who demonstrate good
knowledge of German can extend their stay by two years
16
.During the debate, Reinhard
Grindel of the ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) said, "We reward it when people learn
German. Whoever says yes to our country and makes an effort to integrate will solidify
their residence status more quicklythat's clever integration policy". On the other hand,
Green parliamentarian MemetKilic disagrees saying an IT specialist who needs English
for his or her work should not be excluded on the grounds of lackluster German.
"Otherwise, Germany can only hope to draw good minds from Austria and
German - speaking Switzerland. He opines, "does the government really think skilled
workers plan their futures in Germany with a time limit in mind?"
17
.
Spain has is corporated the Blue Card into its national law (Ley Organica 2/2009),
in effect December 13, 2009, and a revision of Ley Organica 4/2000.) But although the
state sets immigration policies in line with EU rules, judging from the guidelines of the
Spanish Blue Card (Tarjeta Azul in Spanish)the scheme is clearly employer-driven. In
Spain, the Blue Card will be implemented as follows: First, Spanish employers who wish
to contract a foreign worker non-resident in Spain must submit in person, or via theirlegal
representative, the application for an initial permit
18
to the competent authorities (the
Foreigners Office and the Police Department) in the province in which the activity is to
take place (see appendices for the requirements of the Spanish Blue Card).
If the work and residence permit is granted, the foreigner must apply, in person
(notwithstanding exceptions), for the visa at the diplomatic mission or consulate where

15
Lucie Cerna, Towards an EU Blue Card: The delegation of national high skilled immigration policies to the
EU level in ESRC Center on Migration, Policy and Society, 2008, http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/
files/Publications/working_papers/WP_2008/WP0865%20Cerna.pdf, accessed 8 May 2012
16
Sabine Kinkartz, German Blue Card to simplify immigration, 28 April 2012, http://www.dw. de/dw/article/
01591542400.html, accessed 22 July 2012
17
Ibidem
18
Which can be downloaded at http://extranjeros.mtin.es.
103
they live, within a month of the employer being notified. The worker must enter Spain
within three months after obtaining the visa and be registered with the Spanish Social
Security system. Once registered in the Social Security system the worker must apply in
person for a foreigner identity card at the immigration office or police station. The
foreigner will be obliged to leave Spain if not registered with the Social Security system
by the end of the established deadline. Failure to do so constitute a serious offence as it
will be considered an illegal stay in the country
19
.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has reprimanded Austria, Cyprus and
Greece for not transposing yet the Blue Card Directive into their respective national
legislation
20
. And the U.K., Ireland and Denmark opted out of the Blue Card scheme to
protect their own labor market.
In the case of foreign nurses, language ability naturally is extremely important so
as to communicate with fellow medical professionals and patients to deliver quality health
care without failure or misunderstanding
21
. Interestingly, although language requirements
are not explicitly stated in the EU Blue Card Directive, a certain level of language
proficiency is required in most member state visa regulations. The complication lies is in
that each member state has its own language policy for foreigners, more so for
professionals like nurses. In Spain, there is no explicit language proficiency requirement,
although examinations and interviews are done in Spanish. Under Spanish law for foreign
health workers, foreign medical graduates qualified outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland need
to have their qualification recognizedor as fully equivalent to the Spanish one
(homologation) or need to take a 2 stage exam (multiple choice exam and oral exam
onclinical cases, which are conducted in Spanish
22
. While in Austria, where there are
around 20,000 Filipino nurses, they need to take some nursing subjects in German before
they can start working
23
.

3. Methodology
First, a policy analysis was done, examining the 2009 EU Blue Card Directive
(2009/50/EC) and the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding on Migration Flows between
Spain and the Philippines. It is argued that the community - intergovernmental method
dialectic of the Blue Card provisions will complicate its implementation, and discourage
prospective foreign nurses to go or stay in Europe.From the community method
viewpoint, in effect, the Blue Card system is trying to mainstream the application to make
it easier for foreigners to apply and work in the EU. On the other hand, from the
intergovernmental viewpoint, the national regulations and language requirements

19
Spanish Ministry of Labor and Immigration, Work Permits for Highly Qualified Professionals (EU Blue
Card), http://extranjeros.empleo.gob.es/es/InformacionInteres/FolletosInformativos/archivos/triptico_tarjeta
_azul_eng.pdf , accessed 24 September 2012
20
European Commission, 'Blue Card': Commission warns Member States over red tape facing highly
qualified migrants, 27 February 2012, http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/
167&type=HTML, accessed 22 July 2012
21
Ayaka Matsuno, Nurse Migration: The Asian Perspective in Internatonal Labor Organization, 1 April
2009, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---robangkok/documents/publication/wcms_160629
.pdf, accessed 4 April 2012
22
OECD, Immigrant Health Workers in OECD Countries in the Broader Context of High Skilled Migration,
2007, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/22/32/41515701.pdf, accessed 4 April 2012
23
Virginia Radl, e-mail to the author, 5 April 2012
104
regarding foreign nurses in Spain i.e. accreditation of qualifications (homologation)are
seen to impede the good intentions of the EU Blue Card system.
Second, four nurses (out of the total 15 nurses from Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines)
were interviewed about their working conditions in Bilbaoto demonstrate how language
issues become a problem in the integration of foreign nurses to their society and
workplaces as will be discussed in the following section.

4. Case Study: Filipino Nurses in Bilbao, Spain
The Philippines was a former colony of Spain for 333 years from 1565 to 1898.
Spain has a profound influence on Philippine culture, so Spanish culture is very familiar
i.e. Catholic, customs, food. According to Domecq (2011), in fact, as much as 20% of
Filipino vocabulary is Spanish loan words i.e. silla (chair), mesa (table), etc.The
Philippine embassy in Madrid estimates that there were around 40, 750 Filipinos in Spain
in 2003 (the 5
th
largest Filipino population in Europe), but this could reach up to 50,000 if
undocumented migrants are included
24
. While there is an estimated, more or less, 800 to
1,000 Filipinos in Bilbao, concentrated in the affluent area of Getxo where the rich people
live, working as domestic workers cleaning houses, taking care of children or the
elderly
25
.
Yet it should be noted that as much as 41% of Filipino immigrants in Spainhave a
high degree of education, with college degrees in courses like business, education,
economics, medical technology, nursing and years of experience in their field before
coming to Spain
26
. It is hard for Filipinos in Spain to pursue jobs based on their
qualifications as their academic qualifications are not recognized and many arrived in
Spain without knowing Spanish, so oftentimes they have to do jobs that are totally
unrelated or if lucky enough, below their qualifications.In Barcelona for example, some
Filipino nurses are popular nannies for children because Filipino nurses can speak and
teach English.
Interestingly, it is only recently that the Philippines sent qualified nurses to Spain.
In June 2006, Spain and the Philippines signed the Memorandum of Understanding on
Migration Flows in Madrid, allowing a limited number of Filipino workers i.e.
construction, manufacturing, hotel workers and nurses to work in Spain, albeit on a pilot
project arrangement
27
. The bilateral agreement expected to benefit 100,000 Filipino health
workers as Spain was expecting a shortage of 1 million health workers in the short term
because of its aging population. With regards to language, it is explicitly stipulated in the
memorandum that a working knowledge of the Spanish language is necessary to qualify
for jobs in Spain. As the [Philippine Department of Labor and Employment] has pointed
out, major Philippine dialects have absorbed/ adopted a great number of Spanish words,
thus easing the difficulty of learning a new language. The Instituto Cervantes in Manila is

24
Commission on Filipino Migrant Workers, Filipino Migration to Europe: Country Profiles, 1995,
http://www.pinoyoverseas.net/workingabroad/filipinomigrationtoeurope.htm, accessed 5 April 2012
25
Honorary Consul Andoni de Irala, interview with author, October 2011
26
Commission on Filipino Migrant Workers, Filipino Migration to Europe: Country Profiles, 1995,
http://www.pinoyoverseas.net/workingabroad/filipinomigrationtoeurope.htm, accessed 5 April 2012
27
Philippine Information Agency, Spain absorbs 15 nurses from Nueva Vizcaya, 6 June 2009,
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p090706.htm&no=63, accessed 18 December 2011
105
furthermore assisting would-be Filipino migrants through a specially-developed module
on learning Spanish (Article 6)
28
.
As a matter of fact, learning Spanish became popular among Filipino nurses because of
the perceived demand in Spain.In an e-mail message to the author on August 1, 2011,
Isabel Garcia-Fernandez revealed that for the school year 2006-2007, Instituto Cervantes,
Manila had a total of 156 enrollees and 70 enrollees for 2007-2008 for its Spanish for
caregivers course
29
. The Spanish for caregiverscourse was designed for absolute
beginners and tailor-made for health workers, with a special focus on communicative and
situational use, including the cultural, workforce and health care components.After 2008,
there was no longer a demand for the course probably because of the financial crisis that
hit Spain.Ever since the 2006 bilateral agreement, 190 Filipino nurses have been working
in Spain, mainly in Madrid. While in July 2009, 27 Filipino nurses, the fourth batch to be
directly employed through the memorandum arrived in Bilbao
30
. The Philippines is a
former colony of Spain and as a symbolic gesture, 15 nurses from the Nueva Vizcaya
province in the Philippines, named after Vizcaia in Spain, can work in the Basque
Country. The pilot project aims to preserve the historical and cultural ties between the two
namesake and sister provinces. It was the brainchild of former Philippine Labor Attache to
Madrid Marciano de Borja who studied at the University of Navarra and author of the
book, Basques in the Philippines.
The Filipino nurses are currently working as nursing assistants and caregivers in 4
Basque homes for the elderly (Residencias de Mayores) operated by Urgatzi, Igurco,
Residencia Aulaga and Olimpia Bass. All of them have 1 year renewable contracts with a
salary of around 1,000 euros more or lessand are covered by the Spanish health insurance
system. The Spanish Ministry of Education will then evaluate, for accreditation purposes,
the nursing degrees within 6 to 9 months. After getting the official accreditation, the
Filipino nurses will be able to practice their profession and earn the same salary as regular
Spanish nurses who earn around 1,500 to 2,000 euros
31
.
Before their deployment to Spain, the 15 nurses from the province have
completed Spanish language training as part of their preparatory requirements at the
Instituto Cervantes in Manila, where they learned basic Spanish vocabulary and grammar,
culture and customs for 225 hours for 1 month. According to then Philippine Labor
Secretary Santo Tomas she expected little trouble getting licenses because workers could
secure them through evaluation of their skills and performance, no longer through board
examination
32
. While the Spanish employers expect that the Filipino health workers
should be able to speak Spanish, especially those in the health sector because they should
be able to communicate with the patients that are old and sickly
33
. In the interview with
the Filipino nurses in Bilbao, since they will be working first as nursing assistants before

28
Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation for the
Management of Migratory Flows between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Kingdom of Spain
and Ministry of Labor and Employment of the Republic of the Philippines. 25 June 2006,
http://www.poea.gov.ph/lmi_kiosk/Bilateral%20Agreements/BLA-SPAIN%20(ENGLISH%20VERSION).
pdf, accessed 7 May 2012
29
Isabel Garcia Fernandez, e-mail message to author, 1 August 2011.
30
Philippine Information Agency, Spain absorbs 15 nurses from Nueva Vizcaya, 6 June 2009, http://www.pia.
gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p090706.htm&no=63,accessed 18 December 2011
31
Department of Foreign Affairs, 2009, www.dfa.gov.ph
31
Aurea Calica, Spains starts hiring RP health workers inNewsflash, 29 June 2006, http://www.news
flash.org/2004/02/hl/hl104341.htm, accessed 5 April 2012
33
Ibidem
106
their degree gets accredited, their tasks are limited to changing the beddings, feeding, and
bathing the patients, assisting and cleaning the patients when they go to the toilet. Due to
their lack of language skills, they need to work below their qualifications and despite their
years of experience back home.Their work schedule is varied, including night shift, but no
more than 8 hours per day (40 hours a week) as required in their contracts.
They are learning Spanish because naturally they have to communicate better with
their Spanish patients. When they first arrived, a Spanish professor visited at the residence
and taught them Spanish for 2 hours per day, and their employers paid for their
tuition.After living and working in Spain for 2 years now, they can casually talk with their
patients more. Furthermore, as a requirement for homologation, some are taking nursing
courses like pharmacy and psychology because their level of education should be at par as
what the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture requires for nursing education in
Spain. This comes as an additional challenge as they have to learn medical terms i.e.
names of medicines and chemicals in Spanish.They need to take the exam in Spanish, if
they fail, they have to wait for another 6 months because the exam is only twice a year. In
effect, homologationslows down the process before they can work as qualified nurses in
Spain.
In the interview, there is a sense frustration among the Filipino nurses. Nurse
Nelson Cortado laments, I am frustrated with the system because although the process
was explained to us before leaving for Spain, I was not expecting that getting my
qualifications accredited would prove to be difficult, no matter how hard I try because the
examination is in Spanish. He adds that they are mere nursing aides in Bilbao despite
their nursing qualifications and long working experience back home
34
. The other nurses
have given up on homologationand opted to work as stay-in private nurses for old people
like in the case of nurse Mary AnnManaig. Although she receives a lower salary of 850
euros per month, she enjoys free lodging and food because she lives in-house with the
family
35
. She laments, I cant bring my family to Spain because of my low salaryI
cant even rent my own apartment!. Ironically, a proof of sufficient knowledge of
Spanish or any other regional language (except recently in Catalunya) to become a
Spanish national is not required. Many Filipinos have become naturalized Spanish citizens
without proving their Spanish language skills.The Filipino nurses in Bilbao are now
processing the requirements to become Spanish citizens because they already worked in
Spain for 2 years (the residency requirement for Spanish ex-colonies). Also, they are
allowed by both Spanish and Philippine lawsto possess double citizenship. The approval
for the petition for Spanish citizenship can take 1 to 2 years. Ironically, they said that after
obtaining Spanish citizenship, they want to work in the U.K. where salaries and benefits
are higher.Unfortunately, because of the economic crisis and double digit unemployment
rates in Spain, the deployment of Filipino nurses to Bilbao and Spain in general has been
stopped (even Spanish nurses are looking for work abroad due to worsening labor
conditions i.e. salary cuts, longer working hours etc.). Three Filipino nurses had gone
back to the Philippines for personal reasons.In thepast, a similar pilot project which aimed
to bring care personnel in the care industry from the Philippines and South Africa to the
Netherlands ended in failure due to the unreliability of the intermediaries,
misunderstandings about educational levels and professional experience, as well as

34
Nelson Cortado, interview with author, my translation, 17 June 2012.
35
Mary Ann Manaig, interview with author, my translation, 17 June 2012.
107
cultural differences and language problems
36
. The Spain-Philippines pilot project on
migration flows is seen to suffer a similar fate if the problems of the Filipino nurses cited
above are not addressed.

5. Summary and Conclusions
To sum up, Europe will be needing 2 million health professionals by 2020 as
Europes population suffer from double-aging, as projected by the European Commission
Green Paper on the European Health Workforce. However, the health workforce in the
EU is also aging, so it must import health workers from 3
rd
countries. But the EU must
compete with countries like the US, Canada or Australia- countries that offer higher
salaries, better working conditions and where English is the working language - for
doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other high skilled talent. With the introduction of the EU
Blue Card, just like the US Green Card, the EU hopes to attract high skilled workers by
providing a one-stop shop process. However, the dialectic between managing high
skilled migration at the European, or supranational level (community method) versus the
intergovernmental method, where member states have more competencies, is complicating
the implementation of the Blue Card.
In the community method of the Blue Card, the EU sets common rules for
member states to follow so that 3
rd
country nationals would be enticed to work in the EU.
This includes a salary that is 1.5 higher than the average in the member state, as well as
labor rights and social benefits similar to what a national receives and the right to family
reunification (after 1 year) and permanent residency (after 5 years). However, immigration
is still under member state competencies, so the implementation of the Blue Card will still
be in the national level, enforced through bilateral agreement frameworks as the 2006
Spain-Philippines Memorandum on Migration Flows. The problem is that each member
state has its own immigration regulations and salary standards. This spaghetti bowl of
immigration policies will make the Blue Card implementation complicated, ultimately
discouraging prospective 3
rd
country nurses to come and work in the EU.
As in the case study of Filipino nurses in Bilbao reveal, first, their nursing
qualifications are not automatically recognized because Spain has its own nursing
education standards. Although Filipino nurses in Spain dont have to take the state nursing
board examination, their nursing subjects need to be homologated. Nurses then should
work as nursing aides first despite their qualifications and work experience back home.
Second, language will be a barrier in attracting foreign nurses as learning a foreign
language takes considerable time and effort, and while working fulltime,as demonstrated
by the Filipino nurses in Bilbao who needs to take tests in Spanish so
theirnursingqualifications will be accredited. Third, putting a cap on the years of stay is
counter-productive, as foreign nurses want to be a citizen so they can fully enjoy the work
benefits in the host country, such as higher wages, housing benefits, pension and free
medical care. Even if its stipulated that foreign nurses can only work for 4 years under
the Blue Card, Filipino nurses can become Spanish citizens in only 2 years.
To conclude, how does the tension between the community and intergovernmental
method of the EU Blue Card affect the migration of prospective foreign nurses? In theory,
the community should be the source of law, and should complement the national, and the

36
European Migration Network, Satisfying Labor Demand Through Migration, June 2011, http://ec.europa.eu/
homeaffairs/policies/immigration/docs/Satisfying_Labour_Demand_Through_Migration_FINAL_20110708.p
df, accessed 23 July 2012
108
national laws should complement the community laws, in terms of policy-making.The
divergence between the community and the intergovernmental method is making the
smooth implementation of the EU Blue Card problematic. Apparently, member states
have their own way of implementing (or not implementing) the EU Blue Card, that
policies that should be common turn out to be the contrary. Such fragmented immigration
policies are seen to discourage prospective foreign nurses, and other high skilled talent
for that matter, who want to work in Europe via the EU Blue Card, and with it, the decline
of EU competitivity in this era of a knowledge-based global economy. As visionary
Winston Churchill has observed, the empires of the future are the empires of the mind
37
.
At the European level, the EU treatises, through directives like the EU Blue Card
seek to protect the health, peace and prosperity of its citizens. Unfortunately, the
introduction of the EU Blue Card is criticized for its bad timing with high anti-immigrant
sentiment among the European public. The provisions are also obviously detached from
reality. Employers, for instance, will be reluctant to hire foreign nurses as they have to pay
higher salaries (or too low as in the case of Germany that there will be no takers), despite
the global financial crisis and the high unemployment rate. But at the same time, if the EU
doesnt attract health workers, the projected staff shortages at health facilities in the short
term will not be filled, creating more serious problems. At the member state level,
curiously, Spains case is an anomaly because as Spain tries to source to health workers
from developing countries such as Latin America and the Philippines, Spanish nurses are
learning English to look for better working opportunities abroad--even going to the
protectionist UK and Ireland that rejected the Blue Card scheme (while British retirees in
Spain abuse the free and high quality health care in Spain).
In addition, as much as the EU would like to promote circular migration to limit
brain drain, experience dictates that foreign nurses would like to work abroad where
working conditions are better than home and where they can bring their families.
However, as Filipino nurses in Bilbao show, their income is not enough to bring and
support their family in Spain. The family reunifcation after 1 year provision of the EU
Blue Card is commendable , especially in contrast to the US Green Card where it takes
years, even decades for family reunification. But for instance, do they have to uproot their
children from school in their home countries, only to uproot them after 4 years (or 3 years
as in the French and German Blue Card) in Europe? And even if they go back, hospitals in
developing countries dont have the sophisticated equipment hospitals in advanced
countries like the EU has. Or they would just go and work in another country rather than
go back to the Philippines. If the EU wants to be comepetitive in this era of a
knowledge-based economy, those who have the talent should be encouraged to stay, and
not driven away, so they can further hone their talent and contribute to European society.
Therefore, to attract foreign health workers, the EU shouldhave a common policy
not just on salary standards, family reunifacation and benefits, but also on designing
amore simple accreditation of qualifications for 3
rd
country nationals. Another
shortcoming of the EU Blue Card system is that it stops short on how to integrate the new
comers. With regards to linguistic provisions, the EU doesnt mention language
requirements for foreign nurses and how member states should support them to learn the
language of the member state.

37
As cited in Industry Staffing Analysts, Europe: Green Card, Blue Card, 3 August 2011,
http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications/Publications/CWS-3.0/August-3-2011-Vol.-
3.18/Europe-s-Blue-Card, accessed 22 July 2012
109
As the results of the case study show, for Filipino nurses in Bilbao under the
Spain-Philippines bilateral agreement, language issues will complicate the integration of
foreign nurses into their workplaces.Adequate Spanish language support is needed for
them to pass the examinations so that their nursing qualifications will be
accredited.Admittedly, since language requirements cant be abolished, most especially
for health workers whose profession deals with peoples lives, common language
provisions using the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
should be made explicit in the EU Blue Card, and should be the responsibility of the
member state so foreign nurses can prepare for themeven prior to departure (i.e. 150
classroom hours needed to acquire B2 (Advanced) level of Spanish according to the
Instituto Cervantes Manila website, see appendix).
38
In this way, Filipino and other
foreign nurses would be integrated smoothly into their host society.
In my opinon, the pessimistic in me says that the EU Blue Card is not going to
take off. Foreign nurses would still go to the US, UK, Canada or Australia where salaries
are higher, working conditions are better and where English is spoken- worse, after
obtaining European citizenship as the Filipino nurses in Bilbao plan to do. Also, despite
the projected shortage of nurses, the Philippines should not expect too much from the Blue
Card because it is employer-driven, covered by national quotas, so only a very limited
number can come in. Although it may work in a post-recession scenario when the
economy starts to pick-up, the EU must provide integration and language support for
foreign nurses, including their families. Another alternative would be that Filipino nures
be allowed to serve their compatriots or other foreigners who speak English in hospitals
and clinics in Spain, so the burden on the Spanish nurses can be lessened. For my thesis
paper, this paper would be expanded to compare the conditions of Filipino nurses in Spain
to those of Filipino nurses in Austria, who overcame the German language barrier and
successfully carved their niche in the Austrian health sector.

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112

Appendix

Spanish Curriculum Plan of Instituto Cervantes Manila

Source: Instituto Cervantes Manila website. http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/spanish_courses.htm,
accessed 19 July 2012

ANTHEMS AND NATIONS ONE SONG TO 27

Srgio NETO
*

Abstract: Of all the national symbols, the anthem is the one that can tie, though for short
moments, the citizens of a country. Combining choral music, fiery verses and marching
rhythms, the anthem tells the story of a community often created by sword blows.
Therefore, if the anthems can unite people, at the same time they can separate as a
boundary.Our aim is to compare the national anthems of the European countries. Those,
despite all its poetic richness, only present a few ideas: the landscape, the family, the war,
the fate and the beliefs.

Keynote: the landscape, the family, the war, the fate, the beliefs

The development of nationalist ideology in the French revolutionary period is not
a historical coincidence
1
. The fierce European opposition joined many French citizens
around the tricolor flag. On the other hand, the resistance against Napoleonic imperialistic
conquests was the awakening the European nationalisms
2
. The new values were to be a
common language, common customs and a common past.
Essential to this process was (and still is) the building of internal consensus.
Therefore the Nations states, often unconsciously, have the need to call itself a whole
wealth of religious elements, the so-called civic religion
3
. Their national history begins to
take the shape of a mission of a chosen people, whos founding act and major events are
periodically reminded, somewhat in the way of the myth of the eternal return of the
archaic societies
4
. The national holidays, suspension of everyday time, as well as military
parades and civic processions performed in these days, never cease to evoke the religious
processions in honor of saints. Indeed, no Nation state give out its own list of martyrs,

*
Researcher of Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the 20
th
Century (CEIS20), University of Coimbra,
Master in Contemporary History, Portugal, e-mail: sgdneto@gmail.com
1
Anthony Smith, Nationalism: theory, ideology, history, Malden, Mass, Polity Press, 2001
2
Franois Furet, The French Revolution and the creation of modern political culture, Pergamon Press, Oxford-
New York, 1987-1994, 4 vol.
Srgio NETO
114
offering historical figures a secularized equivalent of eternity, i.e., civic memory (statues,
street names, burial in the Pantheon)
5
. Some places, like landscapes and battles sites
become a kind of civic altars of the fatherland. Also national anthems are, in its way,
prayers or liturgies.
It is not by chance that the ties between music and nationalism date back to the
mid-eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. In that time some scholars and artists
began to collect the first anthologys of poems and folk tunes, like Des Knaben
Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder (The Boys Magic Horn: Old German Songs),
published in 1808 and later immortalized in the homonymous song cicle of the Austrian
composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Some composers like the Italian Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901) and the German Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
6
, with their operas, played
decisive roles in the unification of theircountries. Other composers like the Czech Bedrich
Smetana (1824-1884) or the Finnish Jan Sibelius (1865-1957) writed music about the
desire for independence of their countries
7
.
After all its power is immense:
Music has the ability to express ideas in very different ways, most of which lies in
its power to change the rhythm of the pulse of the listener and get a physical reaction [...].
Music can also play a mnemonic role, recalling specific emotions, either directly or with
the accompaniment of words that do not even have to always be repeated to be effective.
Moreover, the music has a cathartic quality, intended to convey a sense of awe and
submission to fate, it is also useful to advertisers in certain occasions
8
.
Until the eighteenth century, music played a religious, entertaining, celebratory or
functional role, rather than a political one. Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759), at the
request of the English king, George II, composed Music for the Royal Fireworks, marking
the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), a few years
later, wanted, in his Symphony No. 45 Farewell, draw the attention of his patron, Prince
of Eszterhazy to the employment problems of instrumentalists orchestra in an avant la
lettre labour protest. Also Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), author of music-inspired
Masonic, still wasnt the artist committed to political values
9
.
Undoubtedly, it was the French Revolution of 1789 to give the first glimpses of a
revolutionary songbook. Soon, amateur and professional musicians and poets began to
write music for events such as tree planting, civic liturgies in honor of the Supreme Being
and to honor the martyrs who fell in battle
10
. Howhever, in the milieu of the classical
music, was certainly Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) who made the most lasting
testimony of revolutionary music: his Eroica Symphony (1805) was originally intended to
honor the civic hero Napoleon Bonaparte and whose most famous movement is a funeral
march inspired by the ceremonial of the French Republic; his only opera, Fidelio (1814)

3
Fernando Catroga, A Religio Civil do Estado Nao. Os casos dos EUA e da Frana in Revista de Histria
das Ideias, Coimbra, 2005, vol. 26, p. 503-581
4
Mircea Eliade, The myth of the eternal return: cosmos and history, Princeton University Press, Princeton,
2005
5
Pierre Nora (dir.), La Nation, ditions Gallimard, Paris, 1986, vol. II Les lieux de mmoire
6
Hannu Salmi, Richard Wagners national utopia, P. Lang, New York, 1999
7
Tomi Mkel (ed.), Music and nationalism in 20th-century: Great Britain and Finland, Von Bockel,
Hamburg,1997
8
Oliver Thomson,Easily led: a history of propaganda, Gloucestershire: Sutton Pub., Thrupp, Stroud, 1999
9
Jacques Henry, Mozart the freemason: the masonic influence on his musical genius, Inner
Traditions,Rochester, 2006
10
Antnio Cartaxo, Ao sabor da msica, Editorial Caminho, Lisboa, 1996
Anthems and Nations One Song to 27
115
takes place in a prison, as an obvious allusion to the Bastille and the desired freedom; his
Ninth Symphony (1824) summarizes the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Revolution
11
.
Regarding this last symphonic adventure, in which Beethoven integrated the Ode an die
Freude (Ode to Joy) of the German poet Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), there were some
thinkers who saw in it a great Feast of the Federation
12
. It is perhaps no accident that
became the anthem of the European Union.

One song, many songs
Of the many interpretations of Greek Tragedy, it was Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-
1900) who provided the key explanatory of that religious festival par excellence, its
deeper meaning and its influence in the contemporary world. Indeed, Nietzsche saw the
tragedy as a synthesis of two elements of Greek culture: the Apollonian and Dionysian
dream and balance vs. desire and drunkenness
13
. The German philosopher asserted that the
Apollonian element would have appeased the mystical and orgiastic cults in honor of
Dionysus
14
, confining its sphere of action, from the artistic point of view, to thechoir
ofGreek Tragedy, which became a kind of incarnation of the collective, the cosmic and the
sacred. In turn, the choir questioned the characters on stage (world) and commented on
their individual attitudes (hibrys), leading to suffering and the tragic outcome of the play
(life), trying to diminish that suffering with the merging of the individual in the whole.
But others have come to similar assumptions. For instance, Gustav le Bon
(1841-1931) recognized the destruction of religious, political and social beliefs from the
past and announced the dawn of the crowds era
15
. This entity, credulous as a child, often
driven by irrational, submits the individual wills to the will of the group. The sense of
belonging and security provided by the group and the oblivion of personal dilemmas
create the feeling of a power that justifies itself, or rather, who blesses. Thus the
introduction of choral singing in schools, unifying national citizens in a common cause,
can be related with the Greek Tragedy. At the same time, we need to see the patriotic
songs and the National Anthems as offsprings of the large coral Christian dating back to
the Middle Ages.
Another point of contact between the sacred and the music is silence. Rudolph
Otto (1869-1937), in a remarkable book, advocated that the sacred, in the work of art, is
manifested through the empty space
16
. About the musical art, Otto adds that: despite
expressing, in a thousand ways, all other feelings, the sacred is expressed with a prolonged
silence, a silence which, so to speak, is listened. According to the author, despite all the
devices that the composer can call upon such as the crescendos, the syncopations and the
hesitations, silence is always more eloquent. No wonder that the the beginning of the
national anthems is to be preceded by silence
17
.

11
Stephen Rumph, Beethoven after Napoleon: political romanticism in the late works, University of California
Press,Berkley, 2004
12
Jean Chantavoine, Beethoven, Librairie Flix Alcan, Paris, 1907
13
Friedrich Nietzsche, The birth of tragedy and other writings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999
14
Marie-Hlne Delavaud-Roux, Les Danses Dionysiaues en Grece Antique, Publications de lUniversit de
Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 1995
15
Gustav le Bon, The crowd: a study of the popular mind, Penguin Books,New York, 1977
16
Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1923
17
Ibidem
Srgio NETO
116
Of all the patriotic demonstrations, sing an anthem is one of the most impressive.
The anthem, as no other, even though for short moments, can tie the citizens of a country
in a remarkable way. Combining choral music, fiery verses and marching rhythms, the
anthem tells the story of a community often created by sword blows. Nevertheless, if an
anthem can unite people, at the same time it can separate them as a boundary. Its lyrics
sing the ancestral enemies of the fatherland. Other times are the rivals of the moment. But
rarely calls them by name.
In all its diversity and poetic value, the lyrics of Europeans National Anthems
only have a few major themes. After all, nations are fed by the same images and
metaphors. The myths are basically the same in different guises. Only five themes run
through the 26 anthems of the European Union: the landscape, the family, the war, the
fate, and the beliefs. That is, at first glance, traditional values that comes from the depths
of time, of an Antiquity and Middle Ages of a more or less imagined
18
.
This study is based on the lyrics of the anthems from the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands,
Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdon.
Naturally excludes the Spanish Anthem, which has no official lyric. But the study will
also include Croatia, which should become the 28th Member-State in July 2013, under the
Treaty of Accession signed in December 2011, as well as other candidates for the EU:
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro and Serbia; and Norway, which in the past
was also candidate.

The landscape
Regarding the thematic landscape in the European anthems, there is a certain
attachment for the wild, but also for the pastoral, representing the achievements of man in
the womb of a nature at once hostile and pleasurable: forests, mountains and cliffs,
or meadows and pasture. While the hills and the valleys split the national
landscape, the rivers (Danube, Moselle, Vistula, Varta, etc.) cross the territory, serving
as a border between States, as well as connecting link, and perhaps the first cradle that
hosted the communities that lived in its banks. Also in his masterpiece, the cycle of
symphonic poems M Vlast (My homeland), the Czech composer Smetana describes the
Vltava river. Almost a cinematic traveling, the music evokes legends, places, and
historical or mythical characters. Under a musical ubiquitous motif representing the river
flow, everyday scenes follow one another along the banks: a scavenger hunt, a peasants
wedding, a dance of the moonlight water spirits, a waterfall and the fortress of Vysehrad,
in Prague. It is the encounter of two national symbols: the fortress which remembers the
past splendor and the river as a dynamic path to the future.
With less intensity is sung the sea and waves, asserting the telluric connection
of these ancient Europeans communities, despite the Age of Discovery or the Viking
exploration of the North Atlantic Ocean. In the case of the anthems of the Scandinavian
countries, there is also a link with the geographical North. In the Portuguese case, its
anthem begins with the words heroes of the sea. The last verses from National Anthem
of Montenegro are about the ocean.

18
Benedict Anderson, Imaginated Communities, Verso, London, 2006
117
The family
The family has always been central and the anthems do not hide that. Father
and mother are the words most employed. They are the source of the fatherland and
the motherland. While the children and the grandchildren symbolize the present and
future of the nation, grandfathers and fathers evoke the beginnings of nationality.
Meanwhile, words like soul, heart, blood, veins, bones, cradle and home
recall the extended consanguinity and the common space of national people.

The war
Common space is also common memory from battles and from wars. Memory
from the fallen heroes: William of Nassau (Netherlands), Scipio Africanus (Italia),
Napoleon Bonaparte (in Polands National Anthem), Trajano and Mattias Corvinus (in
Romanias National Anthem).
Several weapons are wielded, almost from the Antiquity and from the Middle
Ages, which could equip a warrior from head to toe: armour, shield, sword,
sword, sickle and helmet. The exceptions are to the cannons (in Portugals
National Anthem) and the rifles (in Irelands National Anthem), suggesting more recent
fights in both cases against Great Britain
19
. In turn, banners and drums punctuate the
rhythm of soldiers and knights gathered in cohorts.

The fate
The fourth major theme focuses on the fate, which overshadows the national life
with periods of decline: military defeats, loss of independence and historical temporary
disappearance. These times are depicted as times of darkness, the mist of clouds
and sleep. Therefore, on behalf of the old value and memory, it "lift", wake up
and rebirth in order to restore the brightness of the past.

The beliefs
Finally, with respect to beliefs and values, freedom and unity are the most
commons. Also some references to the honor, truth, equality, loyalty and,
especially, to God.

One last song
Like all other countries, the European Union has, since 1985, one day, a flag and
an anthem. If the 9th of May commemorates the Schuman Declaration of 1950, and the
flag with its yellow stars on a blue background symbolizes perfection and unity, the
anthem is not an original creation, but an except of the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van
Beethoven, which integrates the famous Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy), premiered in
Vienna in 1824
20
.
Two of the most important conductors of the second half of the twentieth century
are much attached to the Ode and Joy and the European Union: Herbert von Karajan

19
Joo Medina, Portuguesismo(s), Centro de Histria da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, 2007
20
Jean et Brigitte Massin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Club franais du livre, Paris, 1967
Srgio NETO
118
(1908-1989) and Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). Karajan did in the seventies the
instrumental arrangement of Ode to Joy, which was adopted as the official anthem in
1985. Bernstein on the Berlin Christmas Concert of 1989, which celebrated the fall of
Berlin Wall, brought together musicians from orchestras from the German Federal
Republic, from the Germany Democratic Republic, from France, from Soviet Union and
from the United States. Given the exceptional circumstances, Bernstein decided to change
the text of the Ode to Joy by making use of a legend about Beethoven. Indeed, Schiller,
the author of Ode to Joy, would had initially written an Ode an die Freiheit (Ode to
Freedom), and had changed the title for fear of censorship. For its part, Beethoven, who
would know the thoughts of Schiller, but also afraid of censorship of the Vienna of
Metternich, would have kept the word joy
21
. Knowing how the fall of the Berlin Wall
marked a reunion of Europe, after decades of mistrust, we understand why Bernstein has
said:
Most scholars now say that this was probably no more than a hoax prepertrated
by a 19
th
century political figure named Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. But legend or not, I feel
this is a heaven-sent moment to sing Freiheit (freedom) wherever the score indicates the
word Freude (joy). If ever there was a historic time to take an academic in the name of
human joy, this is it, and I am sure we have Beethovens blessing
22
.
Adopted as the official anthem of the European Union, the Ode to Joy presents
itself without words, in the universal language of music, [because] the anthem expresses
the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity that are the typical in Europe
23
. The original
lyrics, in German, make the apology of universal values linked to the Enlightenment. But,
not wanting to favor any language to the detriment of other EU languages, the song
remains instrumental. A recent proposal suggests the use of Latin, since this is a common
heritage for a good part of the member countries. The lyrics recall the values of the
Enlightenment of the first version:

Europe is united now
United it may remain;
Our unity in diversity
May contribute to world peace.

There forever reign in Europe
Faith and Justice
And freedom of its people
In a bigger motherland.

Citizens, Europe shall flourish
A great task calls on you.
Golden stars in the sky are
The symbols that shall unite us
24
.

21
Esteban Buch, Beethovens Ninth: a political history, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2003
22
Ibidem
23
http://dre.pt/ue/ue_desc.html, consulted on 20 November 2012
24
English version in http://www.hymnus-europae.at/linguae/HymneLateinkurs English.pdf, consulted on 20
November 2012
119
Due to its Universalist message, which has been ranked as the most beautiful of
the utopias or, in the words of Victor Hugo, the truth of tomorrow, nevertheless the
Ninth Symphony appeared regularly in the concert halls of the Third Reich and its music
became national anthem of Rhodesia, between 1974 and 1979
25
. The words of Victor
Hugo and all this cruelly ironic misuse of the music should be a warning about political
and cultural utopias.

Country Original Name English Translation Date
adopted
Austria Land der Berge, Land
am Strome
Land of mountains, land by the
stream

1947
Belgium La Brabanonne La Brabanonne 1830
Bulgaria Mila Rodino Dear Motherland 1964
Cyprus mnos eis tn
Eleutheran
Hymn to Freedom
1960
Czech Republic Kde domov mj? Where is My Home? 1918
Denmark Der er et yndigt land There is a Lovely Country 1835
Estonia Mu isamaa, mu nn ja
rm
My Fatherland, My Happiness and
Joy
1920
Finland Maamme Our Land 1867
France La Marseillaise La Marseillaise 1795
Germany Das Lied der Deutschen Song of the Germans 1922
Greece

Hymn to Freedom 1865
Hungary Himnusz Hymn 1844
Ireland Amhrn na bhFiann The Soldiers' Song 1926
Italy Fratelli d'Italia Brothers of Italy 1946
Latvia Dievs, svt Latviju! God, Bless Latvia! 1920
Lithuania Tautika giesm The National Hymn 1919
Luxembourg Ons Heemech Our Homeland 1895
Malta L-Innu Malti The Maltese Hymn 1964
Netherlands Wilhelmus William 1932
Poland Mazurek Dbrowskiego Poland is not yet lost 1926
Portugal A Portuguesa The Portuguese 1911
Romania Deteapt-te, romne Awaken, Romanian! 1990
Slovakia Nad Tatrou sa blska Lightning over the Tatras 1918
Slovenia Zdravljica A Toast 1989
Sweden Du gamla, Du fria Thou ancient, Thou free -----
United Kingdom God Save the Queen
(King)
---------------------------- 1745

BIBLIOGRAFY
Anderson, Benedict, Imaginated Communities, Verso, London, 2006;
Buch, Esteban, Beethovens Ninth: a political history, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 2003;
Catroga, Fernando, A Religio Civil do Estado Nao. Os casos dos EUA e da Frana,
in Revista de Histria das Ideias, Coimbra, 2005, vol. 26, p. 503-581;
Cartaxo, Antnio, Ao sabor da msica, Editorial Caminho, Lisboa, 1996;
Chantavoine, Jean, Beethoven, Librairie Flix Alcan, Paris, 1907;
Delavaud-Roux, Marie-Hlne, Les Danses Dionysiaues en Grece Antique, Publications
de lUniversit de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 1995;

25
Esteban Buch, op.cit.
Srgio NETO
120
Eliade, Mircea, The myth of the eternal return: cosmos and history, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, 2005;
Furet, Franois, The French Revolution and the creation of modern political culture,
Pergamon Press, Oxford-New York, 1987-1994, 4. vol.;
Henry, Jacques, Mozart the freemason: the masonic influence on his musical genius, Inner
Traditions, Rochester, 2006;
Le Bon, Gustav, The crowd: a study of the popular mind, Penguin Books, New York,
1977;
Mkel, Tomi (ed.), Music and nationalism in 20th-century: Great Britain and Finland,
Von Bockel, Hamburg, 1997;
Massin, Jean et Brigitte, Ludwig van Beethoven, Club franais du livre, Paris, 1967;
Medina, Joo, Portuguesismo(s), Centro de Histria da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa,
2007;
Nietzsche, Friedrich, The birth of tragedy and other writings, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 1999;
Nora, Pierre (dir.), La Nation, vol. II Les lieux de mmoire, ditions Gallimard, Paris,
1986 ;
Otto, Rudolf, The Idea of the Holy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1923;
Rumph, Stephen, Beethoven after Napoleon: political romanticism in the late works,
University of California Press, Berkley, 2004;
Salmi, Hannu, Richard Wagners national utopia, P. Lang, New York, 1999;
Smith, Anthony, Nationalism: theory, ideology, history, Polity Press, Malden, Mass, 2001;
Thomson, Oliver, Easily led: a history of propaganda, Sutton Pub., Thrupp, Stroud,
Gloucestershire, 1999;
http://dre.pt/ue/ue_desc.html, consulted on 30 November 2012;
http://www.hymnus-europae.at/linguae/HymneLateinkurs English.pdf, consulted on 20
November 2012.

II. THE FRONTIER WORKER - BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN
LEGISLATION AND THE NATIONAL PROCEDURES

THE INTEGRATION OF THE NEW MEMBER STATES ON
THE LABOUR MARKET OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE YEAR 2004 AND OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM. LESSONS FOR ROMANIA AND BULGARIA IN 2012

Maurice GUYADER
*

Abstract: Before 2004, many politicians, mainly in Germany and Austria, were frightened
of potential important migrations from east to west after the enlargement of 2004.Round
2000, many studies have been done in Europe on this topic and more or less all of them
have shown that the risk was very weak for a very important reason: if most of the
countries in Western Europe were ageing, in Central and Eastern Europe the countries
were even more ageing (especially in Bulgaria). And generally migrations are done by
people who are young. People don't move very often after 50 years. But if the risk was low
(as the example of Spain and Portugal demonstrated some years before) it doesn't mean
that this risk was zero. It is the reason why some countries (mainly Germany and Austria)
asked for a transitional period with eight of the ten new Member States, not with Malta
and Cyprus.Now the Labour Market is totally open in the EU for the citizens of the
enlargement of 2004. Slowly it is also going to be open for the Romanians and Bulgarians,
till 2014.But the situation is today slightly different from that of 2004. The economic crisis
is in more or less in all the European countries (including the UK); the Roms represent a
special case, as we could have seen in France; Romania and Bulgaria have common
boundaries with more fragile economies than Poland, Slovakia or Lithuania in 2004; one
other specific case is illustrated by the presence of ethnic minorities in these two countries
(as here).For these different reasons, if we may take some lessons for policy governance
from these past enlargements and transition periods, the situation is now slightly different
and we should go on more carefully.

Keynote: lessons for Bulgaria and Romania, British labour market, Polish migrants,
Eastern migrations

*
Associate professor, PhD., Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris, France,
e-mail: maurice.guyader@hotmail.com
Maurice GUYADER
124

Before 2004, several citizens and politicians in Western Europe feared the
immediate consequences of the enlargement of the European Union to Central and
Eastern Europe on the European Union labour market. This feeling spread
particularly in Germany and Austria, neighbouring countries of the newcomers.
The fears concerned a too swift opening of the labour market favouring massive
migration of eastern European people to the west of the continent. That is why
several studies were initiated at the time with a view to anticipate the possible
consequences of that policy.
Our brief approach is placed against this temporary background. After
reviewing the main conclusions of the content, we will examine the way in which
transition periods adjusted, then we will study the British case, where a great
opening was decided (which was not retaken in 2007). We will also approach the
lessons Bulgaria and Romania could learn today, two countries where the
transition period is about to end in 2014 and that are to join the Schengen Area in
the near future.
The same fear was dominant in south-western France during the former
enlargements of the European Union, particularly when Spain joined the European
Union: people were afraid that because of the enlargement, many Spanish would
invade the region. Actually, there was no such phenomenon. On the contrary, the
Spanish that had lived in France after the end of the civil war returned home
thanks to the economic growth more obvious than in south-western France.
At the beginning of the years 2000, the same fear occurred in Germany and
Austria (let us not forget that Bratislava lies about 60 km. away from Vienna).
From a political point of view, it was a sensitive matter, as the extreme right was
on the verge of gaining the power in Austria. Therefore, they had to make sure of
the actual risk of significant migration. Several thorough studies began
1
. The
common conclusions were that, if marginal risks existed, there was no major
danger of great migration from the east to the west. The conclusion was based on
an almost general evidence. If many Member States of the EU-15 had an aging
demographics, the situation was even worse in the future Member States in Central
and Eastern Europe: the population diminished in the Baltic states, in Hungary,
Romania, and Croatia. The situation was catastrophic in Bulgaria, where the birth
rate was collapsing. An aging population is not likely to emigrate, rather young
people devoid of immediate prospects.
However, some population segments could still be concerned, such as: the
driver driving between Sofia and Amsterdameach week easily understands that it

1
See H. Brucker, T. Boeri, The impact of Eastern Enlargement on Employment and Labour markets in the EU
member States, DIW, CEPR & alii, Berlin, Milano, 2000; E. Marowska, Migrations transnationales dans
lUnion europenne largie, une perspective, Universit de Pennsylvanie.

The Integration of the New Member States on the Labour Market of the European Union
125
is much better to live in the Netherlands rather than Bulgaria; the border officer
crossing the border between Bohemia and Bavaria on a daily basis understands
this fact as quickly as the former. Another segment can also be envisaged: young
students from Eastern Europe who, already having an academic background and
master three or four languages of the Union come for a complementary year in
Paris, Brussels or Berlin as Erasmus students. After getting acquainted there, they
quickly intend to settle in the host city. Considering this hypothesis, we can speak
about a brain drain to draw the brains from Eastern Europe to Western Europe.If
these examples are pretty marginal from a quantitative point of view, they are
quite significant and have explained the fears mentioned above and justify the
implementation of relatively discouraging policies.
That is why, particularly upon the request of Germany and Austria,
transition periods were organised before the complete opening of the EU-15 labour
market to the citizens of the newcomers. The transition was organised for a period
covering up to seven years after joining the European Union, that is until the 1
st
of
May 2011. In fact, the period was divided into three segments of two, three and
two years, dead lines when some elements previously blocked could be revised.
During that period, the European Union 15 Member States could either liberalise
or preserve the existing bilateral agreement system; or they could adopt an
intermediate system. Nevertheless, it could not become stricter. These measures
were taken on a national basis, as the field was not decided on a community level
(as some Member States insisted). The newcomers could adopt a similar position
(some of them, such as Hungary, did not leave it out).
Three of the former EU-15 almost completely liberalised their system:
Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Two preserved almost all previous
dispositions (Germany and Austria), while ten others covered the position between
the two extremes at different levels
2
.
As the transition period was divided into three segments of two, three and
two years, the European Commission had the opportunity to propose to go further
with the breaking up process according to the already existing results. Following
the existing results, the Commission did it particularly in the United Kingdom and
Ireland (due to a relatively week migration flow). Following the recommendation,
most Member States dropped the system. Consequently, by the end of the period,
only Germany and Austria still preserved certain obstacles against free settlement.
As far as Bulgaria and Romania were concerned, the same transitory
system was supposed to be implemented as of 2007, and the deadline set to 2014.
Yet this time, despite the relatively weak flow from Bulgaria to the United
Kingdom, the Government decided to preserve the obstacles against free
settlement. The decision was partly made due to internal political reasons on the
eve of the economic crisis.

2
See Le dispositif transitoire a gnralement concern lensemble des nouveaux Etats membres dEurope
centrale et orientale, mais pas Chypre et Malte.
Maurice GUYADER
126
Two years after the enlargement of the 1
st
of May 2004 and at the end of
the two first years of test period, a first revision of the initial transition was made,
particularly in countries open to labour market with the aim to acquire information
for the others and for recommendations to be issued by the European Commission.
According to the study mentioned above
3
(4), about 600,000 people in the United
Kingdom and about 200,000 in Ireland were concerned by the system.
Nevertheless, at the same time, the flows might have been similar in Germany and
Austria, particularly in the field of grey economy, since in most cases the citizens
of Eastern Europe were not officially authorised to seek work in those countries
(with some exceptions).
If we take the example of the United Kingdom, we have to consider that at
the time (2004-2006), the economy of the country was working very well.
Unemployment rate was as low as 4% of the active population, that is a
non-reducible structural unemployment rate. As a matter of fact, most of the
600,000 people were not new immigrants drawn by the healthy economy of the
United Kingdom, rather people already there that had worked on the grey market
and finally reached the official economy. The main difference was that they thus
became tax payers.
Most of them were Poles. Yet there were some Lithuanians and Slovaks.
Most of them were young (in their thirties) and out of them many were graduates.
This age segment had a common feature: they were not married, so most of them
had no children. At that age, they were hardly ill and did not suppose many
expenses from the point of view of the health insurance. Since they had no
children, they were not a burden to the educational system.
They settled in the surroundings of London, in Eastern England and
Midlands. More often than not, they acquired limited duration employment
contracts for short spans of time and returned to their country of origin when the
contract terminated. They were employed either in positions requiring no
qualification, or, on the contrary, in highly qualified positions. Some of the fields
belonging to the first category were as follows: agriculture, housework, hotels and
restaurants, or transportation. They were ready to take jobs refused by the British
for being either too constraining, or badly paid. The fields belonging to the second
category were positions that the British labour market could not cover in certain
high technologies, such as informatics, hospitality, or jobs requiring linguistic
competences that the British did not have. To the same category belonged dentists
originating in the Baltic countries who moved to work in Sweden. In both cases,
they were not in direct competition with the British citizens in a country where the
unemployment rate was as low as 4% of the active population at the time.
This state of facts favoured the British and Irish economies, as the latter
drew many Poles who had no problems integrating due to the common Catholic
religion.

3
Report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, London, April 2006

The Integration of the New Member States on the Labour Market of the European Union
127
This situation did not occur in 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria joined
the European Union. As mentioned before, the British Government did not want to
relive the experience, mainly due to internal reasons in a different climate of
economic pre-crisis. The risk of major migrations was less significant in both
cases: there were only few Bulgarians in the United Kingdom, while the possibility
of important migration of Romanians (particularly Roma people) to the United
Kingdom did not seem to be a real issue. The latter rather chose to go to Latin
countries, such as Italy, France, or Spain. We have to bear in mind the fact that the
United Kingdom is still not a member of the Schengen Area, which limits the
opportunities of free circulation. Thus, the British Government decided to preserve
the system of work permits and visa.
At the same time, following the burst of the economic and financial crisis,
several Poles decided to leave the United Kingdom and Ireland to return to Poland,
where the situation was sensibly better (Poland was practically the only European
country devoid of recession).
What would be the lesson of this experience, when Bulgaria and Romania
will be on their way of reaching the end of the transition period in point of labour
market (on the 1
st
of January 2014 at the latest) and join the Schengen Area, a date
postponed several times?
Nowadays, the labour market of the old Member States is fully open to the
states joining the European Union in 2004. There were no extraordinary flows of
migration, yet now the global economic situation is clearly different. The
economic crisis following the bank collapse relating to the underpayment and the
crisis of the euro zone have radically altered the economic environment. The
southern countries of the euro zone (Greece, Spain, Portugal, and Italy) are facing
great difficulties, Ireland is not in a better situation and even the United Kingdom,
which is outside the euro zone, is not more attractive. They are all aware that the
unemployment rate has grown fast. At the same time, the situation is
comparatively a little better in Germany and Poland.
Beyond the direct impact of the crisis, there are other features differing
from those in 2004 and 2007, to a certain extent. Considering the difficult political
context, several western governments (including the British one) face strong
internal pressure not to open the borders despite the existing agreement at the end
of the transition period.
In fact, Romania and Bulgaria have common borders with Member States
where the economy is much more fragile than Germany and Austria in 2004. They
might not be ready to adjust to the shock entailed by the free employment
opportunities for the Bulgarians and Romanians on their territory.
The existence of the Roma minority is a particular case difficult to seize.
This extremely mobile population raises the fear of important migration flows in
several western European countries, particularly the Latin countries, as the recent
controversy in France has shown.
Another specific case is the existence of several ethnic minorities on both
sides of the borders, such as Oradea. The burst of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Maurice GUYADER
128
during the Trianon Treaty in 1920 left significant Hungarian minorities in several
states bordering Hungary (particularly in Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia). If this
state of facts may be the origin of possible difficulties, it is also a chance when the
new Europe is built. They can and have to act as connections between states that
used to be rivals. The Oradea region is currently one of the best examples in point.
Considering these both situational and structural reasons, the situation in
2012/2013, particularly in the case of northern Romania and its inhabitants, has
similarities with other areas in 2004. Certain lessons can be learnt from this first
experience, yet there are also several differences. They explain that we should not
expect interesting evolutions leading to deception, if the mutations do not rise to
the logical hopes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brucker, H.; Boeri, T., The impact of Eastern Enlargement on Employment and Labour
markets in the EU member States, DIW, CEPR& alii, Berlin, Milano, 2000;
Marowska, E., Migrations transnationales dans lUnion europenne largie, une
perspective, Universit de Pennsylvanie;
Le dispositif transitoire a gnralement concern lensemble des nouveaux Etats membres
dEurope centrale et orientale, mais pas Chypre et Malte;
Report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, London, April 2006.

CROSS-BORDER EMPLOYMENT ALONG THE
HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN BORDER: POTENTIAL
POSSIBILITY OR DAILY REALITY?
1

Erno MOLNR
*

Jnos PNZES
**
Istvn POLGR
***

Abstract: Our study is based on the available employment data and related studies as
well as on two firms case studies. The aim is to examine how the foreign (Romanian)
citizens appear on the labour market of the North Great Plain Region, in a situation when
the permeability of the Hungarian-Romanian state border is growing. Our important
statement is that our region is not a typical area for the employment of foreign citizens
within Hungary because of the relatively less dynamical local economy. There are also
structural differences in the employment of the foreigners between the North Great Plain
Region and whole Hungary. Our case studies (footwear industry and info-communication
services) prove the presence of the foreign mostly Romanian employees in the region
nowadays. The employment effects of the examined firms are concentrated on the
neighbouring counties of Romania, but many employees live on the Hungarian side. The
demands of the two firms are very different, but it could be stated that people with higher
qualification and Romanian nationality as well are working in Hungary.

Keywords: cross-border, employment, Hungarian-Romanian border

1. Introduction
In the process of EU-integration the Hungarian-Romanian state border is
becoming even more permeable as well. Despite the fact, that Romania is not member of

1
The study is financed by the project number TMOP-4.2.2/B-10/1-2010-0024
*
Assistant, PhD., Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning, University of
Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail: molnar.erno@science.unideb.hu
**
Assistant, PhD., Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning, University of
Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail: penzes.janos@science.unideb.hu
***
Lecturer, PhD., Department of International Relations and European Studies, University of Oradea,
Romania, e-mail: isti_polgi@yahoo.com
Erno MOLNR, Jnos PNZES, Istvn POLGR
130
the Schengen Agreement, crossing the borderline between the two neighbouring countries
is much easier than a few years earlier. The growing permeability of the European borders
contributes to the unification of the economic potentials of the neighbouring areas
supplying benefits on regional and local level. In two earlier examinations using the
employment statistics and the potential model as tools we tried to model the spatial
theoretical economic benefits deriving from the growing permeability of the state borders.
One of these attempts dealt with all border sectors of Hungary but was focused only on the
analysis of the Hungarian side
2
. The other one examined the area of Hajd-Bihar and
Bihor counties, as a theoretical region which has its parts on the both sides of the
Hungarian-Romanian state border
3
. The most important conclusions of these examinations
were that the peripheries along the state border having mostly bad social and economic
conditions, but they might have better position with the increasing permeability of the
state borders, but these positive effects could be the most spectacular in the surroundings
of the larger cities with significant economic (employment) potential on the other side of
the border (Chart 1).

Chart 1. Potential effect of the unifying economic space in Hajd-Bihar and Bihor
counties: the contribution of external potential to the summarized potential value, %
(based on employment data)

Source: Pnzes, J. Molnr, E. 2007

Our current study has the aim to improve the theoretical modelling of the
unification process of economic space with empirical examinations. Firstly, based on the
results of the related literatures and the database of the National Employment Service we
would like to answer the question: are there more foreign first of all
Romanian employees in the Debrecen-centred North Great Plain Region in a situation
when the permeability of the state border is growing? In which sectors are they mostly
employed and which activities do they have? Secondly, based on parallel case studies of
two firms (Szamos Ltd. footwear industry; IT Services Hungary Ltd. info-

2
G. Tagai, J. Pnzes, E. Molnar,Methods of the analysis of integration effect on border areas the case of
Hungaryin I. Horga, G. Silasi,I. Sli-Zakar, S.Sagan (eds.), Intercultural Dialogue and European
Neighbourhood Policy, University of Oradea, Oradea,2009
3
J. Pnzes, E. Molnar,Analysis of the economic potential in Bihor and Hajd-Bihar counties in Eurolimes,
4/2007
Cross-Border Employment along the Hungarian-Romanian Border: Potential Possibility or Daily Reality?
131
communication services) we focus on the examination of the cross-border employment
contacts. The using of case studies is important for two reasons: (1) Because of the
liberalization of employment rules within the European Union the employment statistics
of foreign citizens are more and more incomplete, (2) on the other hand, the employment
of foreign citizens in a border region means not necessarily border-crossing commuters.
The selection of the two different types of firms can be explained with more arguments.
(1) Both of them are important employers in their microregions, (2) because of the
different character of their economic activities they have not the same demands for labour
force, (3) they are in geographical proximity of the state border, and (4) they are
functioning in very different socio-economic environment (peripheral small town vs.
regional centre).

2. Romanian employees in Hungary and in the North Great Plain Region
There are some relatively new articles in the Hungarian geographical literature
dealing with the topic of the employment of Romanian citizens in Hungary. One of their
statements is that because of the liberalization of the employment rules between Hungary
and Romania, it is complicated to summarize how many people are working legally in
Hungary: since January 2009 the Romanian citizens do not need any permission to have a
job in Hungary and this is the situation in all sectors and activities (the employer has only
an obligation to registerthe groups of foreign citizens). Under these conditions could be
the total sum of the legally employed foreign citizens much more than according to the
official statistics. In the last years there were officially 50-60000 people registeredin
Hungary and before the liberalization of the employment of Romanian citizens they had a
share of 40-60% within the total sum of foreign employees. It means that the Romanian
citizens have the biggest group of the foreign employees in Hungary: an additional
argument why it is interesting to examine the employment of Romanian citizens in
Hungary
4
.

Chart 2. Romanian employees in Hungary after the millennium

Source: Jakobi, . 2010, p. 239

4
N. Nmeth, A. Csite, A. Jakobi, Romn llampolgrsg munkavllalk Magyarorszgonin Terleti
statisztika, 6, 2009; A. Jakobi, Geostatistical analysis of cross-border migration data of Romanian citizens in
Hungary in Geographica Timisiensis, 1, 2010
132

The cited studies dealt with some structural characteristics of the Romanian
employees in Hungary too. According to their findings, most of the Romanian citizens
employed in Hungary are men and they have mostly Hungarian nationality. The majority
has low education level, two third of them has a simply job, which doesnot required any
professional skills. They are employed mostly as physical workers in the construction
industry, agriculture and retail trade. More than one third of these foreign employees are
working in Budapest, while the region of Budapest (Central Hungary) has a share of
approximately 70%. There are significant number of Romanian citizens in the regions of
Central Transdanubia and South Great Plain (Chart 2). A very important result of the cited
articles that the geographical distance plays only limited role in the job decisions: the
areas along the Hungarian-Romanian state border are not significant in the employment of
the Romanian citizens, the daily or weekly commute across the state border is not
intensive. There is a relative shortage of employees in certain economic sectors of Central
Hungary (mostly in activities for unskilled people) and this explains the employment of
foreign citizens
5
.
As the findings of the cited articles about the employment of Romanian citizens
represent, the North Great Plain Region plays not so important role in the employment of
foreign citizens. On 31 December 2010 less than 3% of the valid permissions and
announcements were registered in this region (announcements are for the citizens of the
European Union like Romanian citizens they dont need any permission to take a job
in Hungary). With this amount of foreign employees the North Great Plain Region took
the sixth place within Hungary, which means that only Southern Transdanubia had less
importance. Furthermore, it should be stated that since the EU-accession, the relative
position of the North Great Plain Region in the employment of foreign citizens has not
changed spectacularly (Table 1).

Table 1. Regional characteristics of the employment of foreign citizens in Hungary,
based on the data of valid permissions and announcements

Permissions
(31. December 2003)
Permissions, announcements
(31. December 2010)
Pieces % Pieces %
South Great Plain 2 351 4,8 6 063 9,4
Southern Transdanubia 1 200 2,5 1 630 2,5
North Great Plain 1 156 2,4 1 902 2,9
North Hungary 1 249 2,6 2 292 3,6
Central Transdanubia 5 171 10,6 9 302 14,4
Central Hungary 33 560 69,0 39 890 61,8
Western Transdanubia 3 964 8,1 3 427 5,3
Total Hungary 48 651 100,0 64 506 100,0
Source: National Employment Service

5
Ibidem
133

Table 2. Distribution of foreign employees among the different economic sectors in
Hungary and in the North Great Plain Region
Economic sectors
Share (%)
in
Hungary
Share (%) in
the
North Great
Plain Region
A Agriculture, forestry; 7,0 9,0
B Fishing; 0,0 0,0
C Mining and quarrying; 0,2 0,4
D Manufacturing; 26,2 27,2
E Electricity, gas and water supply; 0,1 0,0
F Construction; 15,6 6,8
G Wholesale and retail trade, repair of vehicles and household
goods;
10,5 8,0
H Hotels and restaurants; 8,1 11,4
I Transport, storage and communication; 5,1 1,9
J Financial intermediation; 0,8 0,5
K Real estate, renting and business activities; 17,4 16,2
L Public administration and defence; compulsory social
security;
0,2 0,1
M Education; 1,2 3,2
N Health and social work; 2,2 3,6
O Other community, social and personal service activities; 3,2 7,2
P Households; 0,1 0,0
Unknown; 2,1 4,4
Source: edited by the authors from the data of National Employment Service

Chart 3.The structural characteristics of the main groups of occupation in the case of
foreign employees in Hungary and in the North Great Plain Region

Source: edited by the authors from the data of National Employment Service

Comparing the sectoral structure of foreign employees in Hungary and in the
North Great Plain Region (Table 2), it could be stated that in both places approximately
45% of the foreign employees are working in the manufacturing as well as in real estate,
renting and business activities. But there are significant differences too: in the North Great
Plain Region the agriculture, hotels and restaurants, education as well as other service
LEGEND:
1.Leaders (administration,
economy, trade unions);
2.Independent jobs for people
with higher qualification;
3. Other jobs for people with
higher qualify-cation;
4.Office jobs, adminis-
tration;
5.Jobs in services;
6.Jobs in agriculture and
forestry;
7.Jobs in industry and
construction;
8.Machine-operators, drivers;
9.Simple jobs (without any
qualification);
10.Unknown.
134
activities are spectacularly overrepresented, construction, wholesale and retail trade, repair
of vehicles and household goods as well as transport, storage and communication seems
underrepresented. In our region the employment of foreign employees in simple jobs
(without any qualification) is also the most typical, but the importance of this segment is
less than in Hungary.On the other hand, the greater significance of activities for people
with higher qualification is striking (Chart 3).

3. Case studies (Szamos Ltd., Csenger; IT Services Hungary Ltd., Debrecen)
The microregion of Csenger is one of the most peripheral territories along the
Hungarian-Romanian border in the North Great Plain Region
6
. The shoe industry which
has great importance in the structure of the local economy was established in the 1970s. It
was a typical example of socialist industrialization on the agrarian periphery: it showed up
as a workforce demanding industry with low technological level and it strongly depended
on the remote headquarter as a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise. After the change of
regime, the shoe industry of Csenger was integrated successfully into the transnational
value chains and became peripheral within an international division of labour. The
Szamos Ltd. grew up basically according to the characteristic feature of the Hungarian
shoe industry through lease-work in the last two decades. Its competitiveness is based on
lower costs compared to the Western European producers and on higher quality compared
to the Eastern European competitors. Nowadays, the small town near the Szamos
River due to the spectacular overall decline of the industry is one of the most
important locations of the shoe industry in Hungary.
The IT Services Hungary Ltd. (T-Systems Group) was founded in 2006,
nowadays it is the biggest ICT employer in Hungary. The firm has units in Budapest,
Debrecen, Szeged and Pcs. The unit in Debrecen was established in 2007. The IT
Services Hungary Ltd. is one of the new service centres which have higher and higher
importance in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Hungary (according to a
PricewaterhouseCoopers surveymade 2-3 years ago, there were more than 80 regional
service centres in Hungary which employed altogether 30 000 people). The central
motivation of transnational firms for the establishment of these Shared Service Centres
is thecost reduction through outsourcing and concentrating of some standardized
activities.Typical activities of the service centres are financing, accounting, purchasing,
logistics, information technologyand human resources, the activities are concentrated
primarily onregionalor in some caseson global level. The main activity of the IT Services
Hungary Ltd. is system integration and informatics outsourcing. The allocation of the
units shows that these activities demand first of all qualified workforce and infrastructural
conditions above the average.
The Szamos Ltd. initially had approximately 50 employees, but nowadays with
more than 500 employees it is the biggest employer in themicroregion of Csenger. The
firm has quite concentrated employment effects: the 480 employees of its dominant
factory in Csenger commute mostly from Csenger (58%) and from some neighbouring
settlements like Porcsalma (11%), Csengerjfalu (10%) and Ptyod (9%) (Table 3).
According to the data of the firm from 2006, there were 39 foreigner (Romanian citizens)

6
T. Kovcs, E. Sebestyn, Az szak-Alfldi Rgi az Eurpai Uni kapujban in Debreceni Szemle, XI.
volume 4, 2003
135
employed: it means that nearly 8% of the employees came from Romania. Despite this
fact, the enterprise has only occasionally some commuters from abroad: many employees
from Romania (mostly the Hungarian people) moved to Csenger and its surroundings
(Csengersima). Beside this migration process, there are more reasons why it is not so
general, to commute daily across the border from Romania to the shoe factory in Csenger.
First of all, there is a relative oversupply of labour force in the surroundings of Csenger.
Because of the weak local economy, the unemployment rate is high: in October 2011 the
unemployment rate was in Csenger under relatively better economic conditions almost
twofold higher than the national average. On the other hand, 60% of the employees is
skilled worker, 39% is semiskilled worker and only 1% of the employees has university
degree. The education of the skill workers within a cooperation of the firm and the self-
government is organized in the grammar school of Csenger. The semiskilled work
doesnot have any qualification demand which is very important from the point of view of
the employment chances of the local people: the qualification level of the unemployed
people in the microregion of Csenger is significantly lower than the national average.
The Szamos Ltd. has also suppliers on the other side of the border: the most
labour-intensive parts of the technological process of shoe-making because of the
potential benefits of the cheaper labour force are partly outsourced. In Marghita
(Romania) as well as in Petrovo (Ukraine) we can find partners producing for the Szamos
Ltd. The two suppliers have about 100 employees. In these cases not the labour force
comes to the work, but the work goes to the labour force across the border. This example
shows that the relatively cheap workforce on the other side of the border plays a very
important rolein the labour-intensive shoe industry.

Table 3. Place of origin of the employees in the factory of Szamos Ltd. in Csenger
(2006)
Name of settlement
Number of commuters
(head)
Share of commuters
(%)
Csenger 278 58
Porcsalma 52 11
Csengerjfalu 48 10
Ptyod 43 9
Csengersima 29 6
Tyukod 20 4
Ura 10 2
Total 480 100
Source: edited by the authors from the data of Szamos Ltd.

The unit of IT Services Hungary Ltd. in Debrecen began to function with 20
people. In 2009 the firm built a new site in one of the industrial parks of the city.
Nowadays, there are more than 1 200 employees at the firm in Debrecen, approximately
7.7% of them are foreign employees and the Romanian workers give 80 percent of the
foreign workforce. The Romanian citizens are with Hungarian and with Romanian
ethnicity (some of them with German roots) as well. They come mostly from the border
region: Bihor and Satu Mare counties are dominant; the most frequent places of origin are
Oradea, Satu Mare and Carei. In some cases the employees come from quite distant
places: there are employees from Sannicolau Mare (Timis County) and from Brasov
(Brasov County) too. Daily commuting is rare: most part of the workers has temporary
address in Debrecen or in its surroundings, but there is permanent moving as well. The IT
136
Services Hungary Ltd. has knowledge-intensive activities and according to its
profile requires qualified workforce: every Romanian colleague has minimum secondary
education, 53% of them have university degree. Largest part of them are service desk
agents and administrators, but research and development specialists as well. In the case of
this firm the demand for qualified workforce is very important: it seems that despite of the
cooperation between IT Services Hungary Ltd. and the University of Debrecen, alone
even the regional centre is unable to satisfy the demands of the growing IT service firm.

Chart 4. The Romanian citizens place of origin by the unit of IT Services Hungary in
Debrecen

Source: edited by the authors from the data of ITSH

4. Conclusions
Our study is based on the available employment data and on the related studies
using the employment statistics as well as on two firms case studies. The aim is to
examine how the foreign (Romanian) citizens appear on the labour market of the North
Great Plain Region, in a situation when the permeability of the Hungarian-Romanian state
border is increasing. Our experiences are strengthening the statements of the articles
related to the topic: according to the employment data, our region is not a typical area for
the employment of foreign employees within Hungary. This is the real situation despite of
the close geographical location to Romania and the fact that the majority of the foreign
employees in Hungary come from Romania. The reason is the relatively less dynamical
local economy which is not so attractive for the foreign citizens.
There are worth mentioning structural differences in the employment of the
foreign citizens in the North Great Plain Region and in Hungary: in our region are
137
construction as well as transport, storage and communication under-, agriculture, hotels
and restaurants, education as well as other community, social and personal service
activities overrepresented. Simple jobs (without any qualification) play a less important
role which shows that the local labour market has different structure than the national
average: the reason for the employment of foreign citizens is not, or not only the shortage
of the unskilled cheap labour force.
Our case studies (footwear industry and info-communication services) represent
that now the foreign mostly Romanian employees in both of these economic segments
are present in the region. The employment effects of the two examined firms are
concentrated on the neighbouring counties of the other side of the border, but despite this
fact daily commute across the border is not typical: many employees migrate, rent or buy
real estates on the Hungarian side of the border. The demands of the two employers are
very different, but it could be stated that also people with higher qualification and
Romanian nationality are working in Hungary.
The two case studies are not representing all of the economic sectors with
significant employment of foreign citizens, so that in the future it is important to examine
more enterprises of other economic sectors as well. On the other hand first of all in the
cross-border suburbanization areas of Oradea and Satu Mare there are signs of commute
from the Hungarian to the Romanian side of the border. The examination of these
phenomena should be also important task for the researchers of the region.

Work in the shoe factory of Szamos Ltd. Debrecen

Source: photos taken by the authors

The site of the IT Services Hungary in the Science Park

Source: photos taken by the authors
138
BIBLIOGRAPHY
JAKOBI, ., Geostatistical analysis of cross-border migration data of Romanian
citizens in Hungary inGeographica Timisiensis, 1,2010, pp. 231-241;
KOVCS, T.; SEBESTYN, E., Az szak-Alfldi Rgi az Eurpai Uni
kapujban in Debreceni Szemle, XI,volume 4, 2003, pp. 613-636;
NMETH, N.; CSITE, A.; JAKOBI, ., Romn llampolgrsg munkavllalk
Magyarorszgon inTerleti statisztika, 6,2009, pp. 615-627;
PNZES, J.; MOLNR, E.,Analysis of the economic potential in Bihor and Hajd-
Bihar countiesinEurolimes, 4, 2007,pp. 25-36;
TAGAI, G.; PNZES, J.; MOLNR, E., Methods of the analysis of integration effect on
border areas the case of Hungary in I. Horga, G. Silasi,I. Sli-Zakar, S.Sagan
(eds.), Intercultural Dialogue and European Neighbourhood Policy, University of
Oradea Press, Oradea,2009, pp. 177-188.

STUDY-DRIVEN MIGRATION IN THE
HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN BORDER REGION
1

Kroly TEPERI CS
*

Klra CZI MRE
**

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to place study-driven migration, and within it the
internationalisation process of education, into the new world economic context and the
accelerating migration processes. The authors focus on the cross-border elements of
education in the Hungarian-Romanian border region. The analysis of the number and
ratio of students from the areas outside the borders of Hungary (concentrating on
Romania) allows for conclusions with regard to the role of borders in study-driven
migration. This includes the analysis of the data about the co-operations provided by the
freemover and Erasmus students of the University of Debrecen and the University of
Oradea. The paper highlights the trends in the student mobility and the changes of the
most popular courses among the foreign students at the University of Debrecen. The
changes in the migration patterns with educational purposes after the millennium also
reflect changes in cross-border interpretation and communication.

Keywords: cross-border education, study-driven migration, freemover students, Erasmus
students

Introduction
The focus of the study is study-driven migration which is set in the new world
economic context where we concentrate on the achievements and approaches of economy,
migration and education. This is such a system of relations that calls attention to the study
of the so-called knowledge-based society.

Knowledge-based society
The term knowledge-based society implies the social aspects of the economic
changes, and human resources are given emphasis. The rapid and radical transformation of

1
The study was prepared within the framework of the research entitled Learning Regions in Hungary: from
theories to realities supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA K-101867, Project
manager: Prof. Dr. Tams Kozma).
*
Lecturer, PhD., Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning, University of
Debrecen,Hungary, e-mail: teperics.karoly@science.unideb.hu
**
Lecturer, PhD., Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning, University of
Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail: czimre.klara@science.unideb.hu

140
the world economy resulted in the upgrading of human resources. At present, the quality
of human resources has become a determiningfactor in competitiveness. In the global
economy those area (national economies, regions) can be successful competitive societies
where the actors are able to
Communicate;
Cooperate;
Acquire new knowledge and abilities;
Adapt to the new challenges.
The appearance of the conditions of the knowledge-based society means a
paradigm change in economic life and consequently in the attitude of the economy
towards education. The term implies that knowledge became a major economic resource.
Nevertheless, it can no longer be purchased on the free market as a final product but must
be constantly ensured like energy or raw material. Knowledge, besides the costly
manufacturing of new information can be also gained through knowledge transfer which is
much cheaper.
In the global economic competition of the twentieth century, it had become
obvious that Europe is losing grounds. Following this recognition, the European Council
in 2000 in Lisbon adopted the comprehensive economic and social development strategy
of the European Union for the next decade. Increasing the mobility of the labour force is a
principal objective pursued by the strategy. In the field of higher education, this can be
achieved through the mobile student, and the uniform and equal higher education
system, producing diplomas recognised all over Europe.

Role of education in migration
As for the other side, looking at the role of education in migration, we may
establish that the qualified and competent employees for the labour market can be either
produced by the national educational systems;
attracted by the mobilisation of the labour force with the help of migration.
In the latter case the conditions provide advantages for the receiving (or
recruiting) countries. It is generally true that the receiving countries provide better
economic circumstances for the qualified, and exploit the intellectual capital thus gained.
According to the common analogy used in migration studies, they are the ones for whom
the red carpet is laid, as opposed to the masses of untrained for whom the red card is
shown following the migration rules (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The model of self-selected migration

Source: Borjas, 1987
Legend:
S
N
Negative selected,
S
P
Positive selected

Study-Driven Migration in the Hungarian-Romanian Border Region
141
In the current, dynamically intensifying migration process, at present there are
190 million migrants worldwide, of whom about 20% are qualified and competent
employees, 10% are students who study abroad to get a degree or diploma.

Theoretical background and methodological consequences of study-driven
migration
Study-driven movements are unique in the migration process respecting their
plasticity. They should be treated as part of the international migration but there are
serious uncertainty factors:
1.the registration of students with study contracts arriving legally for a longer period of
time is uncertain;
2.the changes in their goals are hard to follow;
3.the temporary migration for study periods often ends in permanent settling (in their
case we cannot think in terms of categories).
The elements of the theory of migration which have relevance for the present
study are collected in Table 1.

Table 1. Theoretical and methodological elements in study-driven migration

For instance, study-driven migration is part of the international migration since
state borders are crossed, and the students spend a certain period of time abroad. The legal
basis for that is provided by a long-term stay contract which actually requires a proof of
enrolment providing access to data. As for the classification of the migration types, it
can be related to the issue of nationality or economy
2
. This actually leads to the
categorisation of study-driven migrants into two groups: (1) Hungarian minorities abroad
and (2) Service buyers.
In this paper only the incoming students are analysed due to the limits and barriers
in data collection.

2
J. Salt, A nemzetkzi vndorls sszettele s vltozsa Eurpban, 2004, http://www.demografia.hu/
letoltes/kiadvanyok/Demografia/2003_4/John%20Salt_tan.pdf; S. Illes, A. Kincses, Migrci s cirkulci
in Statisztikai Szemle, 87 vf, 2009, p.729-747, http://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/2009/2009_07-
08/2009_07-08_729.pdf

142
The data collected and analysed in the research included the data of the foreign
students in public education and higher education in Hungary and Debrecen. Special
emphasis is laid on the educational catchment area of Debrecen and the impacts of
study-driven migration on the higher education in Debrecen. These data and information
allow for drawing conclusions regarding the weight of Debrecen in the study-driven
international migration, and the role of foreign students in the educational system of
Debrecen.

Changes in the number of students in the Hungarian higher education
In the last four years the number of students has been decreasing in the Hungarian
higher education institutions. However, this general decrease was not observed in the case
of the foreign students whose number was steadily increasing over the past nine years
(Figure 2).

Figure 2. Changes in the number of Hungarian and foreign students in the
Hungarian higher education

Source: based on data from Ministry of National Resources; P. Hatos, Campus Hungary,
Program a Magyar felsoktats nemzetkziestsre. Magyar Felsoktats 2011
Hazai vitakrdsek - nemzetkzi trendek Mhelykonferencia eladsa, BCE, 2012. janur 25

Figure 3. Changes in the number of foreign students and ethnic Hungarian students
in the Hungarian higher education, and the % share of ethnic Hungarian students
within the number of foreign students

Source: based on data from Ministry of National Resources; P. Hatos, Campus Hungary,
Program a Magyar felsoktats nemzetkziestsre. Magyar Felsoktats 2011
Hazai vitakrdsek - nemzetkzi trendek Mhelykonferencia eladsa, BCE, 2012. janur 25
143
Looking at the two groups of foreign students referred to above, it may be
observed that the increase in the number of Hungarian minority students was less
spectacular in comparison with the total number of foreign students resulting in a decrease
in their share within the total number of foreign students (Figure 3).
Looking at the composition of foreign students and the ethnic Hungarian students
by origin in the academic year 2005-2006 as the peak year with the highest total number
of students in the Hungarian higher education some general observations can be already
made (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Foreign university students studying in Hungary in 2005/2006

Source: L. Rdei,A tanulmny cl mozgs, Budapest, Reg-Info kiad,2009, p. 168

The ratio of the students from Romania within the Hungarian ethnic students was
almost 40%, being the most populous among the students. With respect to the
neighbouring countries they were followed by students from Slovakia and Ukraine. As for
the non neighbouring countries, the number of students from Germany, Israel, Norway
and Iran together represented 40%.
As a general rule, the most popular majors and faculties among the foreign
students in Hungary include the general practitioner (31%), dentist (5%), management and
business administration, horticultural engineering and computer engineering (2-3%)
3
.

Changes in the number of foreign students at the University of Debrecen
Respecting the weight of Debrecen in the number of students enrolled for regular
training, the central role of the city of Debrecen in higher education is absolutely obvious.
In public education the ratio of foreign students is around the same as the citys share from
the number of the total population. The ratio of the foreign students in the regular trainings

3
P. Hatos, Campus Hungary, Program a magyar felsoktats nemzetkziestsre. Magyar Felsoktats 2011
Hazai vitakrdsek - nemzetkzi trendek Mhelykonferencia eladsa, BCE, 2012 janur 25

144
of higher education significantly exceeds the share of the city in the total number of
students,
Taking into consideration the above described national tendencies, the case of the
University of Debrecen represents a unique phenomenon as the number of foreign
students has been sharply increasing for the past four years in the meantime the number
of Hungarian students was stable (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Changes in the ratios of the Hungarian and foreign students by
academic years [%] (academic year 2000-2001=100%)

Source: Z. Dobny, A Debreceni Egyetem s a vros gimnziumainak vonzskrzete.
Szakdolgozat, DE TTK, 2009, p. 176

As for the distribution of the foreign students by the Centres at the University of
Debrecen, there is an obvious over-dominance of the Medical and Health Science Centre.
This calls for the question of the popularity of the Faculties (and courses or majors)
among the foreign students (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Ratio of foreign students at the University of Debrecen by Faculties in the
academic year of 2009-2010 [%]

Source: Institutional data service, 2009

Nevertheless, we must point out the low number of ethnic Hungarian students in
the top trainings. They are under-represented due to the high tuition fees but they are the
ones who appear in the highest numbers in the traditional trainings. In the case of the
Medical and Health Science Centre, the ratio of the ethnic minority Hungarians is around
Legend:
Centre for Agriculture
and Applied Economic
Sciences yellow;

Medical and Health
Science Centre blue;

Centre of Arts,
Humanities and
Sciences red

145
6%. In 2009, there were only 41 Hungarian ethnic students in the Faculty of Medicine and
only 11 in the Faculty of Dentistry.
Maps were also drawn to demonstrate the places of origin of the foreign students
studying at the University of Debrecen. Based on Figure 7 two groups of students can be
distinguished.

Figure 7. Number of foreign students at the University of Debrecen in the
academic year of 2009-2010 (the first 20 countries, in absolute numbers)

Source: institutional data service, 2009

1.The ethnic Hungarian students who have a significant share in the foreign students at
the University of Debrecen. There is a considerable increase in their number. The
popular Hungarian higher education increases the number of students coming to
Hungarian universities. The Hungarian students still do not travel too far to study,
and the higher education institutions in Hungary and the neighbouring countries are
not rivals yet;
2.Those who do not come from a neighbouring country and do not speak Hungarian
constitute the other group. Their motivations are mainly economic by origin. Most of
them study in the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry, and they come from
all over the world, without any geographical specification.

Focusing on Europe only reveals the dominance of the ethnic Hungarian students
and the lack of geographical logic. The Hungarians coming from the neighbouring
countries provide a significant part of the foreign students in the higher education in
Debrecen (Table 2).

146
Table 2. Changes in the number of ethnic Hungarian minority students at the
University of Debrecen

Source: Institutional Data Service, 2009

Similarly to the increase in the number of all foreign students, the growth in this
field is also considerable. One thing to highlight here is that the number of students
coming from the Transcarpathian oblast is significantly higher than the number of the
Hungarian minority actually living there. Pursuant to the demographic indicators (natural
decrease, outmigration), migration from Transcarpathia will slow down in the case of the
higher education, too.

Catchment area of the education system of Debrecen
The data on secondary and higher education were aggregated and the catchment
area (gravitation zone) of the University of Debrecen has been drawn (Figure 8).

Figure 8. Catchment area of the education system of Debrecen

In the case of the data on students from Hungary, all settlements with more than 1
student coming to an educational institute of Debrecen is marked on the map. Regular
147
intensity zones can be observed around the city of Debrecen: the number of students per
1000 inhabitants steadily decreases with the distance from the city.
The number of students from the areas across the borders was of course lower but
the intensity of attraction was examined in their case as well. When calculating the
intensity ratio, we considered the data on the Hungarian-speaking population of the
settlements concerned. From among the areas attracted by the educational institutions of
the city, the settlements of the border regions of Satu Mare and Bihor (Partium) and the
Transcarpathian region must be mentioned. These are the most intensively attracted parts.
On the map above, we can recognise a rectangle shaped zone with a north-northeast
south-southwest axis.
Narrowing the research area to the higher education students from Bihor County,
results in a more concentrated picture (Figure 9 and 10).

Figure 9. Students from Bihor county at the University of Debrecen in
the academic year of 2009-2010

Source: Institutional data service, 2009

Figure 10. Distribution of the students from Bihor county by Faculties at
the University of Debrecen

Source: Institutional data service

148
Students from Bihor County, typically appear in the Hungarian language trainings
from the common gravity zone belonging to the two cities. The map shows their origin by
settlements and their choice of majors (presented by Faculties). The highest representation
of the ethnic Hungarian students from Bihor can be observed in the two large faculties
(Faculties of Arts and Humanities and Faculty of Science and Technology). The extremely
high number in the case of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and
Environmental Management results from the Department established in Oradea. It may be
also observed that there are hardly any students from Bihor at the English-language
fee-paying medical training.

Conclusions
Foreign students at the University of Debrecen can be divided into two groups, the
Hungarian students from neighbouring countries and the so-called service-buyers,
depending on their place of origin, purposes and their impacts on the city.
The Hungarian students from neighbouring countries represent one-third of the
foreign students. They mostly come from a catchment area with historical roots (Partium).
They take the traditional majors or courses only 6% appearing in medical trainings. It
must also be added here that a sharpening competition may be experienced on the higher
education market, meaning a decline in demand (similar demographic circumstances as in
the mother country resulting in a narrowing source basis) and an increase in supply
(widening higher educational capacity both in Hungary and abroad).
In the case of the service-buyers, however, we cannot speak of a catchment area in
terms of geography. The students belonging to this category chose only from among a few
marketable professions and majors. They are typically confined to medical trainings
(general practitioner, dentist, pharmacist) where there are actually capacity limits.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BORJAS, J. G, "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants,"_American Economic
Review, September 1987, p. 531-553; reprinted in Labor Economics, Volume 4,
edited by Orley C. Ashenfelter and Kevin F. Hallock, Edward Elgar Publishing,
1995, p. 351-373; reprinted in Labor Economics: Worth Series in Outstanding
Contributions, edited by Orley Ashenfelter, Worth Publishers, 1999, p. 305-335;
DOBNY Z., A Debreceni Egyetem s a vros gimnziumainak vonzskrzete.
Szakdolgozat, DE TTK, 2010;
HATOS P., Campus Hungary, Program a magyar felsoktats nemzetkziestsre. Magyar
Felsoktats 2011 Hazai vitakrdsek - nemzetkzi trendek Mhelykonferencia
eladsa, BCE, 2012.janur 25;
ILLES S.; KINCSES ., Migrci s cirkulci. Statisztikai Szemle 87 vf, 2009, http://
www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/2009/2009_07-08/2009_07-08_729.pdf;
L. RDEI, A tanulmny cl mozgs, Budapest, Reg-Info kiad, 2009;
SALT J., A nemzetkzi vndorls sszettele s vltozsa Eurpban, 2004, http://www.
demografia.hu/letoltes/kiadvanyok/Demografia/2003_4/John%20Salt_tan.pdf;
TEPERICS K., Debrecen oktatsi vonzskrzete. In.: Czimre K. (szerk.) Kiskzsgtl az
eurorgiig, Debrecen, 2005.

FRONTIER WORKER ISOLATED PHENOMENON
OR REGIONAL ECONOMIC ASSET

Mihai JURC
*

Abstract: The frontier has gone through allot of changes in terms of understanding the
space of a culture, race, religion, city or nation. Growing from physical walls, intense
militarized areas to a formal understanding of regions with no physical boundaries or
restrictions of any kind, the frontier or the border has been an area of the utmost
importance to the different branches of science. The border region is the collision point of
cultures, religions, languages, administrations, legislations and economic influences. All
these factors have substantial contribution to the phenomenon of people working in or
over the border region. The Romanian-Hungarian border region of the counties Bihor and
Hajdu-Bihar is a young frontier with an old collision point as presented above. In order to
understand why and what for we must first understand who. To fully understand the
phenomenon we have to know who the actors are and what is the common link between
all type of border workers. The essential aspect of this portrait is the common motivation
of this section of the labour market and advantages and disadvantages of the shift across a
national border. An essential component that drives the labour force in terms of number,
preparation and qualification is mainly offered by the economic sector of the region. It
may be the only reason in most cases of frontier worker. The Bihor and Hajdu-Bihar
region are fairly similar in a Europen context but distinctly different it their national
contexts. Although in terms of labor indicators especially wages these are at the same time
similar and different. The frontier worker has become a reality in the region of Bihor and
Hajdu-Bihor but not only. The phenomenon is encountered even where national borders
meet outside the European Union. Growing investments in both regions will dilute the
frontier worker phenomenon to is breaking point or to the point, and this is the area where
local authorities and also European initiatives have to step in in order to create a
possibility for local inhabitants to have easy access to jobs in the same time creating
services (border transportation services) that will maintain the initial competiveness of the
area, therefore maintaining investments and attracting new ones.

Keywords: border worker, impact reasons reality

*
PhD. Candidate, University of Oradea, Oradea Metropolitan Area ZMO, Romania,
e-mail: misujurca@yahoo.co.uk
Mihai JURC

150
1.Introduction
The issue of the frontier border is becoming an interesting phenomenon for a
European continent struggling to reduce social and economic disparities. The concept of
working across the border, working abroad, but living at home is relatively young in the
Eastern European countries. It was not until after the early 1990s and late 1980s that
people living in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia etc. considered that work could
happen outside ones hometown, nevertheless another country. The economic
development of Romanian cities was heavily driven towards a heavily industrialized city,
most of the time against its natural course or history.
The forced industrialized process created mammoth state owned companies that
employed large volumes of workers. The collection basin of the work force was mostly
from the inhabitants of that certain city or its surrounding, depending on the size of the
company, the collection area for labor force being of sometime 60-90km but always
stopping at the national border.
As it was the case with many Romanian cities Oradea, located at 5 km from the
national border with Hungary, had gone through the same socio-economic development
process developing 3 main categories of industries: aluminum production industry,
chemical industry (paint and other chemical based products) and construction of
agricultural machines and parts. The economic environment of the city absorbed most of
the available work force and imported part of the necessary higher skilled work force. Due
to a communist regime and its tight locked border policy the frontier worker concept
would have been limited to a worker living in a region that was located next to a national
border.
The only scattered cross-border phenomenon found in various border regions in
Romania, Oradea included, was related to small scale commerce across the border
restricted to a limited number of persons, usually middle and high members of the society
generally linked in some way to the communist regime. The cross border exchange in the
western part of Romania, Oradea in particular, until the 1990s is limited to small border
exchanges mainly related to consumer goods inaccessible in one of the two countries.
The fall of communism brings into broad day light, for the first time in decades,
the concept of diversifying the ones offer and possibilities in obtaining the usual
necessities. In the case of Bihor county (north-western part of Romania) and its
neighboring Hungarian county Hajdu-Bihar the frontiers begin to lose their attribute as
impenetrable and dangerous physical barriers towards a somewhat better living and a
more liberal society.
This paper, starting with its intuitive title will try to analyze the phenomenon of a
person citizen and resident of country A, working in country B for what is understood
as a normal day shift. The title asks if these situations (cross-border workers) are
coagulated in a phenomenon that is occurring due to a unique border policy within the
European Union, or this is an isolated phenomenon bound to happen only in particular
regions supported more by a cultural and social background than a solid and unifying
regional European policy.
If this is the case and a frontier worker will not happen in every situation where
the border transforms into an imaginary administrative line, then it, as a phenomenon, will
be without a doubt a regional and competitive asset in relation to other geographical
regions.

Frontier Worker isolated Phenomenon or Regional Economic Asset
151
2. Frontier/border definition and understanding
The frontier has gone through allot of changes in terms of understanding the space
of a culture, race, religion, city or nation. Growing from physical walls, intense militarized
areas to a formal understanding of regions with no physical boundaries or restrictions of
any kind, the frontier or the border, has been an area of the utmost importance to the
different branches of science. The border region is the collision point of cultures,
religions, languages, administrations, legislations and economic influences. All these
factors have substantial contribution to the phenomenon of people working in or over the
border region.
Commonly known as a physical line or border separating two territories, the
border this paper tries to analyse is that of European countries. The term border derives
from French in the 15
th
century with the meaning of borderland the region of a country
that fronts another country.
To a certain extent this general definition covers a high percentage of what we
think of when speaking about borders. Nevertheless the term is not strictly related to a
geographical division of territories but can also be the fault line of: religions, cultures,
linguistic and ethnic areas.
It is important to understand the borders Europe has created because the creation
of a united Europe was
1
to prevent new conflicts by stimulating the integration and
cohesion of and cooperation between the countries of Europe. Immediately this was
translated into a desire to eliminate the inner borders of what eventually was to become
the EU. Even if the inner borders of Europe are not, in most cases tangible, they were
categorized by Oscar Martinez as being: Alienated borderlands,
2
created by a border
that does not allow any cross-border interaction. This situation existed in Europe mostly in
war periods or during the cold war period. I was also the case of the Berlin wall/border,
when this type of border was set within the city. Nowadays this border type is found
between North and South Korea or Turkey and Iran. There are not many cases of these
kinds of borders, though for short periods of time, certain borders may be completely
sealed.
Coexistent borderlands, define a border where in a certain sense there are conflicts
or different interests too but they are less problematic, and manageable. Such borders
allow for controlled cross-border interaction.
Interdependent borderlands are regions with a border between neighbouring states
that have stable relations. This border allows for a significant amount of exchange,
although there is not yet a situation of free flow of goods or persons. This is usually
the case for the outer border of the European Union (Romania-Ukraine, Romania
Moldavia etc.)
Integrated borderlands, define a situation where a border has in fact been
eliminated, implying the free flow of goods and labour. This is the case of the inner
borders within the European Union.
The Romanian Hungarian border is now located in the fourth category of
borders even if Romania is not yet a member of the Schengen area. There is a free flow of
goods and also of persons. In this case the labour-mobility in some cases is still under
control. The Romanian Hungarian border is still a permanent customs control, personal

1
http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/eurasia_border_review/ebr3/velde.pdf
2
Oscar J. Martinez, Border People. Life and Society in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, The University of
Arizona Press,Tucson, 1994
Mihai JURC

152
being present in the customs points. The control point has changed and are now common,
customs officers making up joint teams reducing thus the control point from two to one.
3

This ensures a more flexible flow of persons over the national border.
The customs control in case of persons is quickly processed even if the customs
officers still request the traveling documents (passports or ID.). This is an important
aspect when analysing the frontier worker phenomenon in the area (Bihor and Hajdu-
Bihar counties).
The above mentioned type of borders are a crucial, or the crucial element for the
cross border or frontier movements of the labour force. The border has to be analysed and
dissected independently for every section it is analysed even if we speak of a border of the
same country. The border activity, even if it functions under national and international
laws, is adapted to a certain context and cultural relation. The situation of a 4
th
type border
does not always lead to a certain activity in the frontier worker area. Due to cultural
differences or recent history the frontier worker may be a taboo subject.

3. Case Study, Romanian - Hungarian Border (Bihor-Hajdu-Bihar region)
The Romanian Hungarian Border covers the South-Eastern and Eastern part of
Hungary and the North-Western and Western part of Romania. It consists of four
neighbouring counties in Hungary and in Romania, respectively.

Figure 1. Map of the Romanian-Hungarian border

Source: The web site of the Hungarian-Romanian cross-border cooperation program
4

The total length of the state border is 448 km, out of which 415.8 km is
terrestrial, and 32.2 km is fluvial border (on the Mures, Cris, Some rivers). The eight
counties have a total surface of 50,454 km2, of which 43.7% Hungarian and 56.3%
Romanian area. The Hungarian territory is 23.7% of the total surface of Hungary, and the

3
The custom protocol before 2007 set two custom point for each border passing. One checkout (Romanian
custom point) and one checking custom point (Hungarian post).
4
http://www.huro-cbc.eu/en/programme_area
153
Romanian part is 11.9% of Romania. The total population in 2004 was more than 4
million, of which slightly less than half lives in Hungary, and slightly more than half lives
in Romania
5
.
Bihor and Hajdu-Bihar have 6 custom points:
- Bors (terrestrial custom point)
- Sacuieni (terrestrial custom point)
- Valea lui Mihai (terrestrial custom point)
- Episcopia Bihor (terrestrial custom point- rail)
- Salonta (terrestrial custom point)
- ORADEA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
- DEBRECEN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Figure 2. Map of the Bihor and Hajdu-Bihar custom points

Source: ArcGis base map edited for the purpose of this paper

The most important and transited customs point in Bihor county is Bor border
point. Being a border point on E60, a major European road, this is one of the most
important customs points in Romania. E60 is the correspondence of National Road 1; the
most transited and busy road in Romania according to the traffic study of the National
Road Authority (CNADNR)
6
.

5
Ibidem
6
The data from the prefeasibility study for construction a Metropolitan Ring Road for Oradea Metropolitan
Area.Page 245 of the prefeasibility study, official letter of the regional point of the National Road Authority.
Mihai JURC

154
The other custom points are low transit areas with a micro regional impact in
terms of person mobility. These aspects are very important when considering labour force
mobility over the border.
A traffic study
7
presents the traffic flow of vehicles on E60, after the customs
check, before entering the city. The data present a daily high volume of traffic that transits
the customs point. This is important in the mobility infrastructure that a border worker
requires in order to exist. Being a big customs point, Bor, is obviously the first choice for
most of the traffic entering the country, but also the chosen point for possible frontier
workers because of distance and cost efficiency reasons. The other customs points
presented in figure 2 are located at a consistent distance from the main economic centre
that may absorb the border worker, Oradea. In the opposite way frontier workers that
would consider the opposite development pole, Debrecen, have two possibilities: Bor and
Valea lui Mihai customs points. In this case even if the map presents a more direct route
through Valea lui Mihai, the facts present that a crushing percentage of people from
Oradea a surrounding area have chosen Bors as the main exit point towards Debrecen.
This is mainly caused because of road and customs infrastructure. The main customs point
(Bor) benefits from a 4 lane road that eases traffic inflow and a big number of customs
officers that will process a large number of vehicles hourly. These assets will cause in
some points waiting times or a longer route for a frontier worker, for whom the time and
economic efficiency are essential.
The following graphs present the 2010 traffic situation immediately after the
Romanian border.

Figure 3. Borului Street. Average hourly traffic volume (Interval 11.02.2010
12.02.2010)

7
Traffic study done by the Oradea Metropolitan Area when elaborating the Pre-feasibility study for a
metropolitan ring road.
155
Figure 4. Borului Street. Average hourly traffic volume (Interval 11.02.2010
12.02.2010, Class 1- small vehicles, Class 2 small trucks, minivans, Class 3 Buses,
Coaches, Class 4 Trucks)

The main conclusion is that the infrastructure (roads and other public services),
economic offers and also flexibility or rigidity in the local population play essential role in
generating the frontier worker phenomenon.

4.The border worker prototype
The frontier or border worker is mainly summarized by a short definition: national
of country A living in country A but working in country B. In general terms this is
the most common form, of a border worker. This aspect is found and valid in most of the
areas where the phenomenon of working abroad but living at home happens. In our case
this general definition has to be amended with the following cases:
1.National of country Aliving in country B working in country B and during
holydays and every other two weeks living in country A.
2.A national of country A living in country B but working in country A.
For the first case there is the question if this category of workers falls under the
frontier or border worker phenomenon. It checks the main principles of the general
definition of border workers national of another country working in the neighbouring
country. The only difference that we have in the first case is related to duration of stay and
the fact that it has a temporary residence in the working country. This type of worker
crosses the border but not to the extent or frequency that the general definition implies or
the second category. This border transit phenomenon is dedicated to usually mid-level to
top level skilled and working force. As in the Bihor and Hajdu-Bihar region the main
economic gravitational centres are Oradea and Debrecen usually people in the first
category will work in Debrecen and be from Oradea or the other way around. This type of
frontier worker has a defined life span. Because of a low flexibility in accepting frontier
workers in the working environment (workers and residents of country B), low
Mihai JURC

156
adaptability or negative response to the low flexibility usually the border worker will
transform to an expat or will try to find employment in country A. Another problem that
the border worker will face is infrastructure and costs for commuting when retrieving in
the country of origin. Without a proper public border transportation system (direct train
link from Oradea to Debrecen) the costs and infrastructure will determine the worker to
consider the everyday border crossings as a temporary solution, with a certain financial
physical and mental wear, towards moving to country B or finding a more adequate job in
its home country.
The second type of border worker fits perfect in the general definition, in the
sense that he/she travels daily across the border for going to work. The only main
difference is that the person is a national of country A living in country B but working in
country A. One immediately asks why living in country B if jobs are available in country
A. The answer lies in the local economic climate. The global economic crisis was a major
toll for the real estate business. This sector was a thriving economic activity before 2008
and 2009 in Bihor County, more specifically in Oradea. While prices of real estate in
Oradea and the surrounding suburbs were incredibly high (double of what they are today
in 2012) a 2 bedroom apartment from the 1970s costing well over 50,000 euros, in the
rural areas next to the border in Hungary houses and real estate was and still is
considerably cheaper and more adapted to real economic figures. This lead to the
situation according to which Romanian nationals would buy houses with the exact liveable
surfaces that they would find in apartments in Oradea and moreover with an additional
1.000 m2 of property for no more than 25-30 thousands euros.
Because of very high bank costs or bad revenue estimations during the economic
boom period people were forced to transform into frontier workers by keeping their jobs
but being forced to relocate because of financial reasons. Not always would they retain
their jobs but due to a very low adaptability and no language skills they are and were
forced to find jobs in Romania.
In both cases there is a certain frontier worker personality, but the reasons or
motors driving the phenomenon are not that of which one may instinctually think of when
considering border workers. The question is if these two particular categories fall under
the general definition of the frontier worker? Are they to be considered, according to
general international standards frontier workers or do they fall under other categories of
border transit?

5.Factors for the movement of the border worker
There are a various number of factors that contribute to the mobility across the
border. We can speak of factors that are perceived and generated at the level of individuals
(real estate prices, shopping prices etc.) and factors that generate mobility or support it.
This last category is generally governed by local or national authorities that want and
invest in creating a more familiar space in border areas. Nevertheless private companies
can also be part of this category by creating cross border services and service
infrastructure. One of the preliminary needs or must have when speaking of the frontier
worker is a certain familiarity with the border itself and with the neighboring culture.
Going from a physical boundary an insurmountable obstacle (during the communist
period) to a psychological barrier is the evolution of the border in most cases. Even if the
European Union is the integrated border land area the border retains in a mental
perspective the former barriers and contributes to a cross-border immobility situation. The
157
cultural differences and what people see as an acceptable unfamiliarity are key ingredients
for increasing the cross-border mobility
8
. An acceptable unfamiliarity may be the price of
certain consumer goods in another currency or the euro. The border activity between
Bihor and Hajdu-Bihar in terms of border mobility has a particular history. Immediately
after 1989, and also before, the majority of traffic was towards Hungary. This is because
of the fact that the neighboring country is the natural course towards Western Europe,
because of its proximity to western cultures and values was to a certain extent more
relaxed concerning public policies and public availability of goods. In the 1990s there
was huge volume of border traffic driven by commercial or shopping purposes from
Romanian settlements to Hungarian commercial area. Almost all of the small supply
chains for markets and shops in Oradea and the surrounding markets were of Hungarian
origin. This was mainly price driven. The psychological price factor was the sole culpable
for this intensive traffic. The same situation happened after 2005 but in the opposite way.
Due price reorganization after accessing the European Union in 2004 Hungarians living
near the border reoriented towards the Romanian market.
Another element, essentially driven by economic reasons, that recently happens in
the border region is cross-border marketing. Due to the economic situation in the Eastern
part of Hungary and the opposite economic situation of western Romania the companies
in Hungary started throwing marketing over the border in order to attract clients. This
essentially resulted in Romanians going for leisure and balneal touristic purposes in newly
established resorts in Hungary. Allot of Romanian packages are and were sold in Bihor
with two consequences:
-Massive inflow of one day Romanian tourists to Hungarian destinations
-The creation of cross border clusters that would offer the best of both worlds to the
general consumer.
Avoiding damaging competitiveness and creating complementary packages
economies on both sides of the border can grow. As a result unacceptable unfamiliarity
transformed to acceptable unfamiliarity. The psychological barrier of unacceptable
unfamiliarity and a more flexible service operator on both sides of the border crate a
context where mobility is supported.
The category of generating and supporting mobility policies is analyzed in this
paper strictly related to infrastructure. Infrastructure plays the essential role in the cross-
border activity be it for a frontier worker, one day border tourist, or cross-border shoppers.
As presented previously, there are a limited number of border connections. The
improvement of these border junctions of the creation of others will support mobility,
reduce unfamiliarity and create an intuitive environment for border workers.
The Hungarian-Romanian cross-border cohesion program finances multiple
actions related to the reduction of disparities across the border region and increase the
mobility of people over the border. This is an excellent tool for creating new
infrastructures that would ease the border transfers. Unfortunately was in theory always
seems without error in reality it comes to being by adapting the perfect to real life
situations. This is the case of a cross border project that the Oradea Metropolitan Area

8
For a more extensive discussion and empirical underpinnings of the concept, see Bas Spierings and Martin
van der Velde, Shopping, borders and unfamiliarity: Consumer mobility in Europe, Martin van der Velde
and Bas Spierings, Consumer Mobility and the Communication of Difference: Reflecting on Cross-border
Shopping Practices and Experiences in the Dutch- German Borderland inJournal of Borderlands Studies,25 /
2010, p.191-205.
Mihai JURC

158
Association
9
developed for one if its members, Toboliu Local Authority. The aim of the
project is to create a direct road over the border that would link Korosnagyh and Cheresig
(one of the villages of Toboliu Local Authority). The project was implemented according
to the set schedule but came to a complete halt when the two road sections reached the
legal 20m green area of every national border. Since Romania is not yet member of the
Schengen area the construction of the remaining road section (20 m) on each side of the
border is not possible without a bilateral governmental decision that would put in place a
temporary custom point in that specific road crossing. The perspectives of 2013 are not
very optimistic concerning the accession of Romania in the Schengen area, therefore when
the project will end (April 2013) the investment will have reached all its minimal outputs
(nr of roads length of roads). Since the actual linkage o the two roads has not been
foreseen as an output (the program being constructed on the basis that Romania will be
part of the Schengen area) the projects achieves it minimal outputs but does not achieve its
goal.

Figure 5. National border between the two roads

The role of infrastructure is undisputable when speaking about the frontier
worker, but it doesnt always relate to roads or other physical construction (rail
connections direct shuttles to Oradea and Debrecen etc.) it can refer to services that a
frontier worker would need (common data base for the border unemployment offices) and
last but not least the need of a certain law system that would encourage border mobility. If
we take the second example of border prototype: A national of country A living in
country B but working in country A we can immediately see a lack of medical
support (not emergency support) due to its nationality and tax contributions, which in this
case are diverted towards countrys A medical services event if the subject would need
medical services in country B.

9
Oradea Metropolitan Area was founded by the association of the Oradea municipality with the
administrative territorial units surrounding it, namely the local authorities of Biharia, Bors, Cetariu, Nojorid,
Osorhei, Paleu, Snmartin, Sntandrei. Therefore the 9 founding members, located on the western border of
Romania set, through the generals assembly decision, on the 9th of May 2005 the first intercommunity
development Association legally established, in a form of Metropolitan Area was set in Romania, see
http://zmo.ro/en/index.php/about-us/short-history.
159
6. Conclusion
Starting from the observation that apparent abolishing of borders has not lead to
the expected cross-border interaction and that borders are not only tangible barriers and
other concepts and factors like cultural differences, previous historic happenings and lack
of infrastructure, can be a trigger or a stop button for the border worker phenomenon.
Cross-border marketing, evolution of economies, better understanding markets have
limited allot the unacceptable unfamiliarity and contributed to transform unfamiliarity as
an acceptable barriers therefore creating and supporting the border movements from Bihor
and Hajdu-Bihar. In order to get the people mobile, especially across borders, there should
be a reason to do so, in other words, some kind of attracting force is needed.
Efforts for stimulating and enhancing Eurpean integration have had not reached
their set bar. The cross-border exchange, until now, has been limited and not what? in the
beginning of the EU integration process. Cross-border programs and development are
relevant to the extent that they do not consider the borders as almost exclusively barriers
that have to be overcome. This is the case now According to Ernste for instance, borders
should be interpreted as a regional asset, that has to be cultivated and celebrated. This
discourse does not consider the border as something that is irrelevant. On the contrary, the
border is regarded as something highly relevant and exploitable. What has to be done is to
make the inhabitants of the border-regions aware of these differences along the border,
and consequently of each other. The other side should stay and/or be made relevant and
attractive. In that case people should be encouraged to change their mental disposition
towards the border, or to be more precise, towards the other side. To consider the other
side, including its differences and (un)familiarity, is as relevant as it is a necessary, albeit
insufficient, precondition for interaction
10
.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Martinez, Oscar J., Border People. Life and Society in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands,The
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1994;
Van der Velde, Martin; Spierings, Bas, Consumer Mobility and the Communication of
Difference: Reflecting on Cross-border Shopping Practices and Experiences in the
Dutch- German Borderland in Journal of Borderlands Studies 25 / 2010;
Van der Velde, Martin, Shopping, borders and unfamiliarity: Consumer mobility in
Europe, 18 AUG 2008;
http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/eurasia_border_review/ebr3/velde.pdf;
http://www.huro-cbc.eu/en/programme_area.

10
http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/eurasia_border_review/ebr3/velde.pdf

TRANSFER OF SENTENCED IN LIGHT
EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL REGULATION

Mihaela PTRU
*

Abstract: Frequency of cross-border crime and the large number of foreigners detained
in EU Member States in this field requires application of the principle of mutual
recognition, able to lead to the development of cooperation initiated under the auspices of
Council of Europe conventions.Facilitate rehabilitation objective pursued by the transfer
of sentenced persons might be hampered by language and cultural barriers, and lack of
contact with family.Community rules require the enforcement authority to substantiate the
view that the transfer would not serve the social rehabilitation. Framework decisions
incidents in national legislation and therefore limited to the sentence which provide
execution in detention of custodial sentences, possibly partial recognition of conviction,
after prior consultation with the issuing State.On the principle of legality and personality
criminal, checking criminalization laws oblige all facts for which Member States were
given the final judgment of conviction. European Convention of 1983, ratified by all
Member States and the 1997 Protocol to the Convention contains provisions on transfer of
sentenced persons in the State of nationality, even without their consent provisions not
ratified by all Member States.On amnesty or pardon, the European legal framework states
that may be granted by the issuing State and the executing State. National case law in this
area reflects a fair application of European regulations and the national - Law no.
304/2004 republished.

Keywords: transfer of sentenced persons, Framework Decision, convention, legislation,
jurisprudence

1.General considerations
Offenses attract, as a rule, to a sentence.
Punishment is a measure of coercion and a means of rehabilitation of the offender
applied to prevent committing new offenses, distinguished from any other legal sanctions.
In the current context, when freedom of movement is restricted, there is an increase in the

*
Associate professor, Phd., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: mihaelapatraus@yahoo.com
Mihaela PTRU

162
number of crimes committed in the Member States of the European Union foreign
citizens. In these cases, based on international cooperationin criminal matters, cooperation
must serve the interests of the proper administration of justice and foster reintegration of
convicted persons, believing that the best way to achieve this is to transfer them in their
country States
1
in which the offense is able to enforce the sentence imposed on convicted
foreign national territory, or to approve the transfer of the convicted person in his country
of origin to serve the sentence.
Penalty by foreigner convicted in the State of conviction would be lesseasy for
the social reintegration of offenders, in a setting that is not theirs, and, on the otherhand,
the execution of the sentence in the State of conviction, and not their country oforigin
makes it difficult for prison administrations that would have to endorse simultaneously
clienteles of different linguistic backgrounds
2
.
In this context there could result not only material difficulties, but also a certain
difference in legal treatment to the detriment of foreign prisoners who would benefit most
difficult in relation to local prisoners, measures of individualization of punishment, such
as semifreedom or permission to get out of prison, because there is a risk to flee and thus
to avoid the performance penalty.
International there are systems for transferring prisoners, namely the continued
execution of the sentence imposed in the sentencing State and conviction conversion
system.

2. European Regulationsin
2.1. Council of Europe Conventionon theTransfer of Sentenced Persons
Council of Europe Conventionon the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
3
was adopted
to facilitate the transfer of foreign prisoners to their home countries, being a
complementary European Conventionon the International Validity of Criminal
Judgments
4
, which has a smaller field of application because it has been ratified by a
number of smaller states, and the procedure is quite cumber some.
The convention takes account of modern trends inpenal policy - the importance of
social reintegration and rehabilitation of offenders, which can be easier at home than in
another state
5
. At the time, from the Convention texts economy results that it has taken
into account humanitarian considerations too, such as communication difficulties due to
language barriers, removal of local traditions and lack of contacts with relatives
6
.
Transfer procedure, terms, conditions, obligations judicial authorities,
communication applications for transfer, the effects of general principles governing
enforcement inserted in to the content of the Convention, were taken in to national law
7
,
which provides for a mixed administrative and judicial approval of the transfer or in

1
Preamble of the European Conventionon the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, adopted in Strasbourg on 21
March 1983.
2
J. Pradel, G, Corstens, Droit penal europeen, Editions Dalloz, Paris, 1999, p. 90.
3
Done atStrasbourg, 21 March 1983, ratified by Romania by Law no.76/1996, published in Romania's Official
Monitor. no.154 of July 19, 1996
4
Done atThe Hague onMay 28, 1970, ratified by Romania byGO no.90/1999, approved by Law no.35/2000
5
F.F.Radu, European and internationaljudicialcooperationin criminal matters, Wolters-Kluwer Publishing
House, Bucharest, 2009, p 102
6
Ibidem, p 102
7
Law no. 302/2004, republished in Romania's Official Monitor. no. 337 of May 31, 2011
Transfer of Sentenced in Light European and National Regulation
163
Romania of a convict return in grole competent court of appeal decision, issues to be
addressed in a separate section of this paper.

2.2. Additional Protocol of18 December 1997
8

Additional Protocol to the Convention was adopted to regulate the transfer of the
enforcement of sentences when convicted person ran in the issuing State of nationality
and the convicted person is subject to an expulsion or deportation as a consequence of
conviction, without obligations for MemberStates to grant approval.

2.3. CouncilFramework Decision2008/909/JHAof 27 November 2008
9

Framework Decision is to apply the principle of mutual recognition to judgments
in criminal matter simposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of
liberty for the purpose of their enforcement in the European Union.
The scope of this Framework Decisionis limited to decisions regarding the
execution sentence in detention, custodial sentences, where the convicted person is in the
issuing State or the executing State. Executing State may be either the State of nationality
of the sentenced person (in which he lives, or to cease to be deported after sentence of
imprisonment) or a Member State other than that of citizenship, which supports
transmission of judgmentand certificate.
In the latter case, the Framework Decision provides for the possibility for Member
States to make a declaration that consent is not required if: convicted person lives and has
been legally residing continuously for at least 5 years the executing State and shall retain
the right of permanent residence and the convicted person is a national of the executing
State (in situations other than those referred to above).
Application submission judgment and the certificate may be made by both the
executing State and by the convicted person. It is shown that, in the matter of transfer of
sentenced persons, none of Council of Europe Conventions requires the executing State to
accept a request for transfer. As a novelty, it provides limited grounds for refusal, with
optional.
The reasons for non-recognition and non-execution are: (a) the certificate is
incomplete or obviously does not correspond to the judgment and was not completed or
corrected within a reasonable period set by the competent authority of the executing State,
(b) met the criteria of Article 4 (1)
10
, (c) The penalty would violate the principle of non bis
in idem, (d) the judgment relates to acts which would not constitute an offense under the
law of the executing State, where the double criminality check and if the executing State
has made a declaration under Article 7 (4)
11
, in the cases referred to in Article 7 (1).
However, the offenses relating to taxes or duties, customs and exchange, execution of a
judgment may not be refused on the ground that the law of the executing State does not
impose the same kind of tax or duty or does not contain the same regulations relating to
taxes or duties, customs and exchange regulations as the law of the issuing State, (e) the

8
Ratified by Romania by GO no.92/1999, published in Romania's Official Monitor no.425 of 31 August 1999,
approved by Law no.511/2001
9
Publ. in J. of. the European Union no. L327/27of 5 December2008 and the date transposed by Denmark,
France, Italy, Malta, Poland, Finland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
Austria
10
Sending certificate by the State ofnationality, which lives convict, who will be deported to state or another
state that agrees.
11
Dual criminalitychecksin all cases, includingoffensesfrom the list, art. 7, paragraph (1).
Mihaela PTRU

164
execution of the sentence is prescribed in accordance with state law enforcement, (f)
executing State law provides immunity, making it impossible to execute the sentence, (g)
the sentence was imposed on a person under the law of the executing State because of his
age, could not be held criminally liable for the acts on which the judgment was issued, (h)
when the competent authority of the executing State receives judgment executed remain
less than six months of the sentence, (i) the judgment was rendered in absentia, unless the
certificate states that the person was summoned in person or informed via a representative
competent according to law issuing national state the time and place of the hearing which
resulted in the judgment in default, or that the person has shown competent authority that
makes any appeal (j) executing State makes a request before the take a decision on the
transfer, and the issuing State does not consent, the person concerned should be
prosecuted, sentenced or otherwise deprived of liberty in the executing State for an
offense committed prior to the transfer other than for which the person was transferred; (k)
the sentence imposed includes a measure of psychiatric or medical or other deprivation of
liberty which can not be applied by the executing State in accordance with its legal or
medical system. In this case, the explanatory memorandum recommended that the
executing State to try to adapt to refuse sanction before taking. It also believes that the
reason may be applicable where the person was not convicted of a crime, although
competent authority applied a deprivation of liberty other than a custodial sentence. (L)
the judgment relates to offenses under the law of the executing State are regarded as
having been committed wholly or predominantly in a essential part within its territory, or
in a place equivalent to its territory
12
.
Unlike the 1983 Convention, the Framework Decision requires the consent of the
convicted personon condition that it is givenin explicit form, unless the judg ment of
condemnation and certificate are provided: State of nationality in which he condemned
person, state to be deported after termination of sentence the convicted person, the State in
which the sentenced person has fled or turned against him because a criminal proceeding
is pending or has been assigned a conviction.The last two cases are also covered by the
Additional Protocol of 1997. Even in these cases, individual transferable record opinion,
to be considered under the law of the executing State. The annex to the Framework
Decision also included consent forms for recording or convict opinion
13
.
Regarding the recognition of the judgment in the executing State, the Framework
Conventionare similar to the 1983 Convention regulation, meaning that the competent
authority will decide either to continue execution or conversion of conviction, if the
amount or nature of the punishment is incompatible with the law of execution. Conversion
requires imposition of a sentence as close to that impose din the sentencing State, it is
prohibited and condemned the worsening transformation in a pecuniary punishment.
Specialty rule
14
applies regardless of how the transfer occurs.
Framework Convention provides for exceptions to the prohibition on transferee
who is prosecuted or sentenced to a custodial sentence for an offense committed before
transfers, i.e. when the person was able to leave the territory of the sentencing State and
did so within 45 days of final discharge, or has returned to that territory after leaving it
and the offense is not punishable by a custodial sentence or a detention order. However,
when operating ban procedures have the effect of application of a measurere stricting

12
Article 9 of the Framework Decision
13
See Annexes 1 and 2.
14
Covered by the Additional Protocol of 1997. In this regard see art.18 of Framework Decision.

165
personal liberty when the convicted person could be liable to a penalty or measure not
involving the deprivation of liberty, even if the penalty or measure may lead to limitation
of personal liberty, if the convicted person has consented to be transferred when the
person convicted subsequent transfer, has expressly waived the benefit conferred by the
principle of specialty.
Specialty rule does not apply in situations other than those listed
15
above when
issuing State agrees, not presumed, to bespecifically requested.
Framework Decision provides that enforcement is subject to the law of the
executing State. Depending on the method of granting parole, communicate to the
executionat the request of the issuing State, the latter may withdraw the certificate.
Framework Decision includes the possibility of partial recognition of conviction, after
prior consultation with the issuing State, in the absence of agreement, it shall withdraw the
certificate. Certificate may be withdrawn and in other cases, only motivated as long
asjudgment has not start edexecuting State.
Framework Decision provides for the possibility that the issuing State to seek
custody ofthe convicted person
16
, before the arrival of the judgment and the certificate or
before taking a decision on thetransfer. This measure or other precautions may be required
when sentenced in the territory of the executing State, the goal being to avoid leaving its
territory by condemned.
Amnesty or pardon may be granted by the issuing State and the executing State
17
.
Jurisdiction to decide any appeal against conviction rests solely with the competent
authorities of the issuing State.

3. National regulations
3.1. Theoretical issues
In accordance with national legislation, the transfer of sentenced persons is done
in compliance with international treaties ratified by Romania and on a reciprocal basis
(Article 141 paragraph 1 of Law no.302/2004 on international judicial cooperation in
criminal matters).
The objective of transferring a person finally convicted in Romania in a state
whose nationality it to sentence (142).
142 Paragraph 2 of Law no.302/2004, republished provided that the a fore
mentioned legal provision is properly applied under conventional reciprocity, where a
Romanian national has been convicted in another state. Transfers can be requested either
by the issuing State or the executing State (article 142 paragraph 4), at the request of
prisoners (paragraph 3).
Conditions for transfer:
a) sentenced person is a national of the executing State;
b) decision is final;
c) receipt of the request, the sentenced person still has at least six months of the penalty
(exception - based on agreements between the countries involved transfer can take
place if the sentence served is less than 6 months);

15
Article 18 para. 2 letter a-f
16
Article 14 of theFramework Decision
17
Article19 of theFramework Decision
Mihaela PTRU

166
d) convicted person agrees or to age or physical or mental conditionone of the states
considered necessary (exception - no need consent fugitive who fled to the executing
State whose nationality);
e) facts upon which the sentence is crime in State;
f) the issuing and executing agree on the transfer (Article 143).
Requests and responses:
- Be made in written form.
Request is addressed to the competent central authority of the requested State, that
in Romania - Ministry of Justice (Article 144 par 2, 3).
Romanian State shall inform the foreign state in the shortest period of its decision
regarding acceptance or refusal of the transfer of the sentenced person (paragraph 4).

Procedure when the Romanian State in the Sentencing State
Ministry of Justice shall inform in writing: the person convicted of the content of
relevant international convention, the central competent authority of the executing State,
in the shortest time after a final conviction of the name, date and place of birth of the
person convicted, his address on the facts upon which the sentence, nature, duration and
date of commencement of the sentence (par. 1-3 146).
The convicted person shall be informed in writing of any action taken by the two
states and the decisions made by one of the states in this area.
Romanian state requires executing State following acts:
a) document or a statement certifying that the sentenced person is a national of the
executing State;
b) copy of the regulations of the executing States howing that the facts which gave
rise to the judgment in Romania are offenses under the law of that State;
c) statement containing information about the procedure that willopt for the
enforcement of the sentence in Romania (147).
These documents may be requested even before making the request for transfer or
the transfer rule.
If one party does not consent to the transfer, the Romanian State shall:
a) authenticated copy of the conviction and a copy of the applicable legal regulations;
b) a paper on punishment enforced period, including relations on detention, reduction
of sentence or execution stage;
c) declaration of consent to the transfer of the convicted person;
d) where appropriate, any finding forensic report or other medical documents
attesting to the person's physical or mental condition, treatment followed
recommendations in this regard or if minor - the report of the social inquiry in
question (Article 147 par 2).
Consent must be freely given and fully informed by the convicted person (148),
being able to check this by means of a consul or official agreed with the executing State.

Transfer effects (art.149-150)
- Suspend execution of the sentence in Romania
- If the executing State considers that Romania does not complet eexecution of the
sentence may request execution or further execution of its
- Only Romanian state may exercise remedies against the final judgment (convict can
do this even after transfer)
167
- Does not apply in such case the conversion of the sentence, prev. OfArticle 159.

Procedure prior
Request is addressed to the person convicte din Romania, the Ministry of Justice,
National Prison Administration requiring urgent, documents and information provided.
paragraph 3 of Article 146 and 147 par.2 lit.a-d, and upon receipt will translate and submit
them with the application to the central authority of the executing State, which will require
the documents referred to in Article 147 paragraph 1 and decision to accept the transfer
(Article 151paragraphs1-2).
Do not translate documents and shall not be transmitted to Romania where
Romanian state has information or documents necessarily entail refusal of transfer.
The solution in this regard is given to the competent court of appeal hearing:
- The general prosecutor of the court of its own motion or at the request of the Ministry
of Justice
The sentence shall be justified and against it may invoke the remedy of appeal
within 5 days of the pronouncement.
The final decision shall be communicated to the Ministry of Justice which will
inform the executing and convicted by the National Administration of Penitentiaries.
Legal costs are borne by the State in accordance with Article 169 of Law
no.302/2004 combined with Article 192 of the Criminal Procedure Code finally aligned.

3.2. Solutions
If the application procedure for solving continuous transfer all documents,
including those emanating from executing State are subject to international regular
examination at the Ministry of Justice in accordance with Article38 of Law no.302/2004,
as amended (the application and documents to verify compliance with international
treaties, including agreements to which Romania is a party with in 3 working days of
receiving the request), then the ministry forward the application and documents,
accompanied by translations Attorney GeneralOffice by the competent court of Appeal
will hear the convicted person to ensure that they consented to the transfer, either
personally or by proxy and record position in are port signed by the prosecutor and the
convicted person.
Attorney General shall notify the court of appeal having jurisdiction over the place
of detention, or if the convicted person has not begun serving the sentence, his residence
after checking if the person is not subject to another criminal case before the Romanian
judicial authorities (except-whether information may come urgently to notify the court of
appeal until the first hearing will send the verification) - Article 152, paragraph3.
According to Article 152 paragraph 4, the application shall be heard urgently in
chambers with the prosecutor, citing the person convicted and the defendant (if
applicable) - Article 152 paragraph 4 and the presence of a lawyer or elected.
Sentence is subject to appeal with in 5 days from the ruling (Article 152 paragraph
5).
Holders of the appeal:
- Prosecutor General of the Court of Appeal of office or at the request of the Ministry
- convict
Ministry of Justice will inform emergency executing State on the out come.
If the transfer is accepted, the Ministry of Justice informs the Interior Ministry,
which provides teaching escorted the convict (paragraph 7, Article152).
Mihaela PTRU

168
If convicted person evades or avoids execution refuge in the territory of a national
Romanian state may require him:
-Taking the penalty imposed
- Arrest or take any measures to ensure that the person remains in that territory to be
served with the decisionon the request to taken forcement
- By executing court (in case of the ft)
- The court in whose jurisdiction the place of detention (in case of escape).
If the court attaches documents under Article 146 paragraph 3, 147 paragraph 2
letters a, b, d translated and will be sent to the Ministry of Justice to tell the requested
State.
The request to taken forcement shall be settle dincourt proceedings and the
decision shall be communicated to the Ministry of Justice will send all documentation to
the central authority of the executing State.
Legal costs are borne by the State in accordance with Article169 of Law
no.302/2004 combined withArticle 192 of the Criminal Procedure Code finally aligned.

Optional refusal of transfer (Article153):
a. person has been convicted of serious offenses echo deeply negative public opinion in
Romania;
b. punishment provided by the law of the executing State is clearly superior or inferior
to that established by the decision of conviction;
c. There are enough indications that once transferred prisoner will be released
immediately or in the short term;
d. convicted person has not repaired the damage, not pay legal expenses and not
guaranteed the payment of compensation;
e. there are indications that the executing State shall respect the rule of specialty.
Aspects of the transfer of the convicted person when the Romanian state is
executing State to the Court of Appeal to rule on proceedings in such cases, we propose to
develop in this paper.

Amnesty, pardon and commutation of the sentence
Romanian competent authority may grant under Article166.
Transit on transfer of sentenced persons who requested the Romanian state
through the Ministryof Justice may grant a transfer request made by another State under
the terms of Article 167 paragraph 1 or deny whether the convicted person is a Romanian
citizen or stateless person residing in Romania and act is an offense under national law. If
using the Romanian air space, not necessary a request for transit.
According to Article168, only acts referred to in Article147 paragraph 2 requires
supralegalization.
On the costs of the transfer of the convicted person, in Article 169 states that they
are the responsibility of the executing State, except those incurred exclusively on
Romanian territory as a state of condemnation.

3.3. Case Law
High Court of Cassation and Justice, the decision on points of law no. 34/2009
18

has established that it is resolving power demand merger of penalties imposed by the

18
Published in Romania's Official Monitor. no.742 of November 5, 2010
169
national court sentence imposed by a foreign state recognized by the Court of Appeal
Bucharest, the court ruling last execution having jurisdiction over the place of ownership.
If the final decision is given by the foreign state, jurisdiction to hear the application for
amalgamation of punishment the court would have heard the case in the first instance.
In this respect the Court of Appeal ruled and Oradea, no criminal sentence.
1/P/2010 (filenr.1063/35/2009) 414 final by the end of 15 March 2010 HCCJ
535/1/2010), which has sent the case to the competent solution Court Bihor.
The Bihor Court, the criminal sentence 172/Pof 12 august 2009, given in the file
nr. 3275/111/2009 had the jurisdiction to settle the case, the purpose of merging
sentences, sentenced SZI request of petitioner asked merging penalties imposed byfinal
judgment in Romania, life imprisonment by the Court of Appeal Bucharest by criminal
sentence no. 267/2008, in recognition of the effects of the judgment given by the
Hungarian authorities (criminal sentence nr. 6B.262/03/193/2005 the Capital Court,
judgment of the Court of Appeal Criminal nr. 2Bf.898/05/46/2005 capital and no criminal
sentence. Bf. 898/05/53/2006 Court of Appeals Capital).
Bihor Court held that jurisdiction to heart his case was the Court of Appeal
Oradea as the appropriate court to the Court of Appeal Bucharest to recognize the foreign
judgment.
Court held that the case before Bihor court has jurisdiction to hear the application
convict, citing the following.
Issue of transfer of sentenced persons as a form of international judicial
cooperation in criminal matters is governed by the "Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons" and the Additional Protocol adopted in Strasbourg on18 December
1997.
Article 9, paragraph 1 of the Conventional lows the competent authorities of the
executing State (where the convict may be transferred or has been transferred) to continue
execution or convert the sentence, through a decision of the state given in judicial or
administrative proceedings, replacing the sanction imposed in the sentencing State a
sanction prescribed by state law for the same offense.
Effects of transfer of sentenced persons, where the Romanian state is the
executing State, are expressly and exhaustively in Articles 141 to 152 of Title VI of the
Law no.302/2004, republished on international judicial cooperation in criminal matters.
Legislature provided that the transfer of a prisoner to another state is possible only
after calls for recognition of the sentence in the State where it will be transferred.
The manifest intention of the legislature, but the Court of Appeal Bucharest, shall
be empowered to decide on the acceptance or rejection of the transfer, recognition of the
foreign judgment of conviction, and the right to dispose or further penalty imposed by the
issuing or conversion of conviction where the penalty imposed or how duration is
incompatible with Romanian legislation, according to art.145 or art.146.
The no. 267/21criminal sentence imposed in October 2008 by the Court of Appeal
Bucharest, the foreign judgment entered on resjudicat a produces its legal effects in
Romania and was enforced.
On this aspect, the provisions of art.144 par. 3 of Law no. 302/2004, republished,
establish that execution of the sentenceis governed by the law of the executing State.
This legal provision must be read in conjunction with the Codeof Criminal
Procedure for enforcement, or Chapter II of Title III of Part Special - "Execution of
criminal judgments", which refers to the enforcement of the judgment, as well as other
provisions on execution inserted in Chapter II.
Mihaela PTRU

170
Enforcement of the judgment relates to the enforcement of principal,
complementary safety measures, the legal costs of the provisions of criminal and civil
judgments can be characterized as original stage, the onset executive process.
Other provisions include changes in judgment execution (delays, interruptions of
execution or removal, change of punishment), therefore in serted procedures in this
chapter can be characterized as a second step, incidental executive process.
One such step is part of the procedure for amending the penalty, the application of
fusion of final punishment, applied to competing facts.
As a common provision, the competent court settlement procedures under Title III
is executing court, the first court, which solved that merits (art. 418 of the Criminal
Procedure Code).
But on some procedures is provided and alternative jurisdiction, that court
enforcement of appropriate court in whose jurisdiction over the place of detention (Art.
449 par. 2 last sentence of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
Economy legal texts inserted in Title III that, for the original stage of the process
sexecution, jurisdiction lies with the executing court and the secondary stage and
incidental powers are alternative execution court or appropriate court whose jurisdiction
the place of detention.
This is the general legal framework for enforcement to be placed in the context of
the provisions of art. Article 149.4 of Law no. 302/2004.
By corroborating the provisions of art.150 of law results that the Court of Appeal
Bucharest is the only court to recognize and enforce the foreign judgment.
Under this legislation, taking into consideration the general legal framework, by
derogation from art.418 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the Court of Appeal Bucharest is
the court of enforcement. This power is limited derogation under Article. Article 149.4,
enforcement, or the procedures specified in Chapter II of Title III. Fusion procedure
relating to the application of penalties is governed, in the absence of other rules derogating
provisions of art.449 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code, even when there is an
international element, as is the case here.
Consequently, the application filed by the petitioner S.Z.I. fusion can be solved by
the appropriate court and execution court having jurisdiction over the place of detention,
namely Bihor court; by enforcement court understanding the court, according to
Romanian law, where the case had been tried first instance, and not the Court of Appeal
Oradea as the appropriate court Court of Appeal Bucharest to recognize the foreign
judgment.
For the foregoing, under the provisions of art. 42 Code of Criminal Procedure
Article 43 paragraph 1 sentence combined with II Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court
of Appeal Oradea declined jurisdiction to hear the case in favor of the Court Bihor.
Given the negative conflict of jurisdiction arisen under Art.43 paragraph 3 of the
Criminal Procedure Code with regard to art.43 paragraph 7 of the Criminal Procedure
Code, the Court of Appeal was asked High Court of Cassation and Justice-Criminal
Division for conflict of jurisdiction arisen between the Court of Appeal Oradea and the
Court Bihor.

171
The practice of the High Court of Cassation and Justice in the matter of
transfer of the convicted person
The 3470/30.X.2008 decision of the High Court of Cassation and Justice
19
, on the
conditions of transfer of the convicted person was held that where the receipt of request
for transfer of the convicted person hadat least 6 months duration total penalty, even if a
prisoner punishment has executed more than 6 months. High Court of Cassation and
Justice held that the application is admissible and quashed the decision not to insert the
term of imprisonment on the convict to execute (art.149 al.6 Law no.302/2004 and 420
Procedure Code criminal).
Decision no. 570/10.02.2010, the High Court of Cassation and Justice
20
, on
consent with drawal after approval of the transfer request, said that the appeal is
unfounded, as the conditions of transfer to Austria, since consent is irrevocable because it
took the presence of the Ambassador of Austria, freely and there are no provisions
stipulating the withdrawal of the declaration of consent.

3.4. The Draft Amendment toLaw no.302/2004
To ensure jurisprudence stability regarding the segment of recognition and
enforcement of judgments in Romania and the harmonization of national legislation with
EU regulations, the current legislative framework in the field is expected to be changed by
transposition into national law of the Framework Decision. 2008/909/JHA of 27
November 2008, meaning that the Ministry of Justice has drafted a bill that rethinks the
whole system of recognition and enforcement of judgments in relations with third
countries, including the transfer of sentenced persons and Romania.
According to the draft Title V - Recognition and enforcement of judgments and
judicial documents in relation to third countries included in Chapter I General provisions
relating to scope, time, competent administrative authorities, documents and information,
and the law governing enforcement and effects transmission penalty
21
. In Chapter II,
entitled "Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments" in the three sections are
inserted prior notification measures aspects of court for transfer detainees to third
countries in order sentence in a prison or hospital in Romania, the duration, the procedure
and conditions for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, proceedings,
notification of foreign judgments and opposition convicted person and the recognition
and enforcement of other criminal provisions of the foreign judgment and foreign judicial
documents. Chapter II / 1 governing the recognition and enforcement of judgments
Romanian territory of a third State.
The draft law transposing into national law of the Framework Decision, and this
will result in development cooperation initiated under the auspices of the Council of
Europe conventions and relieve magistrates non-judicial aspects.

19
Bulletin of Cassation no.1/2009, p. 67
20
Bulletin of Cassation no.7/2010, p. 46
21
Articles130-133 of the project
Mihaela PTRU

172

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bulletin of Cassation no. 1/2009;
Bulletin of Cassation no. 7/2010;
The European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, adopted in Strasbourg on
21 March 1983;
Law no. 302/2004, republished in Romania's Official Monitor no. 337 of May 31, 2011;
Pradel, J.; Corstens, G.,Droit penal europeen, Editions Dalloz, Paris, 1999;
Radu, F.F., European and international judicial cooperation in criminal matters,
Wolters-Kluwer Publishing House, Bucharest, 2009.

THE FREE MOVEMENT OF SERVICES
AND THE CROSS-BORDER SECURITY

George ANGLIOIU
*

Abstract: The occurance of asymmentrical threats and risks in the wake of September 11,
2001 has granted to the Euroskeptics the extra-arguments for claiming the return of the
Europe of Nations and to capping the immigration of workers. In the same time, the
general debate over the issue of fully implementing the deepening of the freedom of
services at last led to major tensions between West and East in the EU. The securization of
the Eastern and Southern frontiers in the context of immigration waves based on
organised crime is another concurrent issue by affecting the labour market in illicit ways.
Nonetheless, the crisis of multiculturalism and the growing denial of the relevance of the
European Union lay at the crossroads between security and labour stealing phobias, a
key indicator in the electoral and governance patterns.

Kaywords: free movement principles, borders within borders, European second-rank
citizenship, non-discrimination, security-competitivity relationship

The Expectations-Capabilities Gap
The free movement of services is still defined as one of the primary freedoms of
the European citizenship, introduced by the EC Treaty of Rome, but which is yet not fully
implemented. From a strategic point of view, the essential dilemma for the Deepening
dimension of the EU integration process remains Federalism vs. Intergovernmentalism.
The Limits of the Integration Process operate both in terms of enlargement and
deepening. From a Philosophy of history point of view, Neagu Djuvara has introduced
accordingly the concept of Psychological fatigue
1
in order to describe the political
unwillingness to continue the construction of large, super-national actors. The Gaullist

Associate professor, PhD., National School of Political and Administrative Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
1
Neagu Djuvara, Civilisations et lois historiques. Essai dtude compare des civilisations, Editions Mouton,
Paris, 1975
George ANGLIOIU

174
vision of L Europe des Nations is faced today by a more pragmatic The Multispeed
Europe.

The Bolkenstein Directive (2004) and the Polish Plumber Myth
The fierce opposition of the Inner Circle
2
caused the decisive alteration of the
original version of the Services Directive proposed by the former Commissioner for the
Single Market, Frits Bolkenstein from country of origin to country of destination legal
conditions. The Polish Plumber Myth made by the French media is similar in its foreign
worker-phobia to the extensive and deprecating media campaigns in the United Kingdom
3

or Italy
4
.
In the end, the case of full implementation of the freedom of services movement
falls under the aegis of validity and applicability of the EU norms regardless of the size
and status of the respective EU member-state. The British exceptionalism could mean the
non-involvement in the deepening of the EU integration by the means of structural
cooperation but doesnt provide for the exoneration of the United Kingdom in the matters
of complying to the general/fundamental norms applicable in the EU. Thus, a member-
state cannot issue its own norms to extend the exclusion/transition/limitation timeframes
and not breach the EU Law. The intention of the British government to contain after
January 1
st
, 2014, the free access to social benefits and medical assistance for the
Romanian and Bulgarian citizens represents a clear violation of the principle of non-
discrimination which ranks higher to the non-applicability of the EU Charter of
Fundamental Rights on the British soil. This is a matter of competence for the
commissioner in charge of Justice, and also a vice-president of the Commission, Viviane
Reding
5
, her comments spurring already mixed reactions from British political elites.
There should be also taken into account the fact that the EU bureaucracy doesnt have a
significant positive record in dealing with past breaches of the EU Law by the inner circle
states (the convergence criteria of the Stability Pact broken in 2004 in electoral context by
both France and Germany).

2
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyns coining of Stalins most relevant collaborators, but in this case signifying the most
influential EU member states.
3
Hordes of romanians and bulgarians are already preparing to head for britain in search of work, according to
a mail on sunday investigation, see Nick Craven and George Arbuthnott, Thousands of Bulgarians and
Romanians 'Plan to Flood UK in 2014' as Employment Restrictions Relax in The Daily Mail, 27 january
2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268952/thousands-bulgarians-romanians-plan-flood-uk-2014-
employment-restrictions-relax.html;Foreign gangs are shipping coach loads of romanians into london,
officials say , see ***, Immigrants Flood Capital Ahead of Olympics in The Sun, 24th april 2012,
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4276482/immigrants-flood-capital-ahead-of-olympics.html;Nick
Sommerlad, Gangmaster sara recruitment loses licence for self-employment sham inThe Daily Mirror,
February, 1, 2012,http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2012/02/gangmaster-loses-licence-for-b.html.
4
For the opposite conclusions drawn by the leader of the National Council of Economy and Work (CNEL),
Antonio Marzano, see Sergio Bagnoli, Rapporto Cnel: I Romeni la comunit meno criminale in Italia, Sette
Giorni, pubblicato nell' edizione 435 pagina 4 il 2010-07-19, http://www.sette-giorni.ro/index.php?page=
detalii&categorie=insieme&id=20100718-2370.
5
"The free movement directive is not a directive on which Britain can opt out. Free movement is one of the
foundations of the single market and the single market is something which the UK is very attached to and it is
one of the most cherished EU rights... It is a two-way street - it has rights and obligations - but what you can't
do is discriminate"apud ***, Immigration of Bulgarians and Romanians to UK can't be Restricted Says
Europe in Huffington Post, 14/02/2013 16:03 GMT, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/02/14/
immigration-unlimited-uk_n_2686688.html

The Free Movement of Services and the Cross-Border Security
175
In fact, the vested parties should answer to the following capital question-mark: Is
the second-rank European citizenship a reality or a speech figure? The map of the
European identity (leading to the highest status of EU citizenship) is shown by the one of
post-Cold War waves of enlargement with clear-cut strategic differences between the
1995 group of new comers (Austria, Finland, Sweden) and the former Soviet satellites
which joined the block in 2004/07. The real life transposition of the country of destination
principle impedes highly on the free-circulation of services cis- and trans- this new labour
Iron Curtain in the EU.
The right transposition of the principles embedded in the Treaties and the EU
Charter of the Fundamental Rights should have led to a social and economic
harmonization based on a functional European citizenship, a prerequisite step towards
achieving higher social and economic security at the EU level. In a global and fierce
competition context, no one should ignore the necessity for a tight intra-EU connection
between competitivity and security.
The derivative issue of imported European citizenship applies mainly to the case
of the Moldovan citizens which have completed their reclaiming of Romanian citizenship
due to their ancestors ethnic filiation. The Issue of Restoration of Romanian Citizenship
to Moldovans was placed high on the agenda of the Tory faction of the British
Government due to the doubling of the Moldovans taking benefit of the citizenship of an
EU state to which they dont belong/originate. Question marks were raised on the legality
of citizenship restoration to Moldovan citizens of Slavic ethnic origin with a look to the
postponement of full removal of restrictions after 2014 and the reintroduction of visa
regime for all Romanian citizens.
One of the relevant aspects in this regard is the amount of illicit activities
facilitated by this status (e.g. cigarette smuggling) and the necessity of effective
securitization of the EU/Romanian Eastern border.
Another topic under serious reconsideration should be the status of the
Gypsy/Roma communities as national or European ethnic minority. The Rroma/Gypsy
syndrome
6
represents worst practices in terms of understanding and solving at national and
EU level the anthropological and socio-economic problems of migrant populations.
Therefore, could the Rroma migration be placeable in the layout of free
circulation of services? Could the Rroma camps be considered or reformed as start-ups in
the field of delivering lucrative services of traditional origin or foresaken/abandoned by
the host ethnic majority?

Fear, Anarchy and Securitization
The enlargement of the EU to East and South meant new challenges to the
security of the inner circle consisting of the formal or informal big state powers of EU.
Furthermore, the interlocked enlargement/expansion of NATO-EU in the post-Cold War
Era has led to a joint border to the East meaning a higher degree (of integration) of border
securitization.

6
A Romanian gypsy campaigner jailed for her role in a 10 million benefits fraud has been allowed to stay in
Britain to protect her human rights see Larisa Brown, Romanian fraudster who helped to steal 10m in
benefits is allowed to stay in Britain to protect her human rightsinThe Daily Mail, 7 October 2012,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2214081/Romanian-fraudster-helped-steal-10m-benefits-allowed-
stay-Britain-protect-human-rights.html.
George ANGLIOIU

176
Nonetheless, the real structural cooperationin terms of frontier security has shaped
a new geopolitical reality of Borders within Borders, self-evident in the case of extending
the Schengen Area to the new comers, namely Romania and Bulgaria. Strictly technical
criteria were de facto replaced by anti-corruption mandatory requirements due to the
alleged poor management of the judiciary, police and customs personnel. The successive
postponements of these countries accession into the Schengen Area due to the formal
opposition of some of the older state-members (The Nederlands, Germany, Austria) has
triggered bitter criticism and resentment of the political elites and public opinions, but has
forced them to make some steps towards complying to the real and effective rule of law
required. The false assertion that once in, you will never be thrown out combined with
the old Communist mentality of mock-up reports inflating the reality soon after the
accession proved to be insufficient in dealing with the combined EU Commission and
Western member-states pressure for fight against corruption, regardless of technicalities.
New trends in opting-out (the Danish case of reintroducing a degree of customs
and police control at its borders within the Schengen Area) has also cast new doubts of
Euro-skepticism over the long-term willingness of self-sufficient member-states to assume
indefinitely perceived risks and threats generated or amplified by the lack of proper
control at their intra-EU borders.

Post 9/11 Phobies and Realities
The Islamist terrorist threat in EU is real and manifest as shown by the bombings
in Madrid (March 11, 2004) and London (July 7, 2005) with an approximate collective
death and wounded toll of 243 and 2,750 respectively. The last significant tentative strike
has been unveiled in July 2010 when a string of Mumbai-like attacks were intended to hit
United Kingdom, France and Germany.
7
The infamous Hamburg cell
8
which was the main
player of the September 11, 2001 attacks emigrated to or prolonged their stay in Germany
under the clout of student visas or work permits
9
.
The human vectors are both immigrants and second-generation citizens of mainly
big member-states.
10
To these should be added up the fast growing number of Islamic

7
The perpetrators would have been 2 British and 8 German citizens of Arab origin trained in Pakistan, see
Richard Norton-Taylor and Owen Bowcott, Mumbai-style' terror attack on UK, France and Germany foiled
inThe Guardian, Wednesday September, 29, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/29/terror-
attack-plot-europe-foiled and Adam Gabbatt and agencies, British brothers 'planned Mumbai-style terror
attack in Europe inThe Guardian, Thursday September 30 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk
/uk/2010/sep/30/british-brothers-terror-attack-europe. For the issue of West Europeans involved in Al
Shabaab-like Islamist guerrillas see, for instance, ***, UK must plan for Mumbai-style attack, says minister
inBBC News, October, 18, 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19988748.
8
For the profiles of its members and the nesting function played, by the Al Quds Mosque, see the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States, Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland,
http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm.
9
E.g. the controversial case of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, describded by the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks on the United States as a significant al Qaeda operative and facilitator for the Hamburg cell. For the
record of his visa and work permit applications, see United States District Court for the District of
Columbia, Memorandum Order, Mohammedou Auld Salahi Petitioner, Civil Action No. OS-CV-0569 v.
Barack H. Obama, et al. Respondents, p. 12, https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgibin/show_public_doc?
2005cv0569-319.
10
Robert S. Leiken, See Europe's Angry Muslims in Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005, http://www.foreigna
ffairs.com/articles/60829/robert-s-leiken/europes-angry-muslims?page=show
The Free Movement of Services and the Cross-Border Security
177
converts among EU nationals especially in the poor(er) and marginal social categories
(generally involved as manpower in services).
Although the aforementioned elements would lead to an Aristotelian conclusion
that the profile of a wannabe terrorist lies certainly in the midst of the Islamic
communities, the terrorist attack in Norway (a country participant in the Schengen Area
and former candidate to EU), singly perpetrated by a non-Muslim, shows the complex
framework of such risks and threats in the multicultural societies of the Old Continent.

The Organized Crime
The organized crime means the other category in the field of asymmetrical risks
and threats alongside terrorism. Operating under the keyword trafficking of anything
illegal, it is by far more dangerous and effective in undermining the member states and the
EU.
The algorithm to circumvent the relationship between organized crime and
state/EU security could be embedded in a comparison: as weaker the frontier goes as
stronger becomes the illegal movement of anything of a selling value.
Thus, the top priority should be fighting corruption at the border taking into account the
permeability of new comers frontiers with non-EU countries (Greece dealing with large
numbers of illegal Albanian immigrants and allegedly dumping into FYROM, a candidate
state, Pakistani, Syrian or Afghan people; Romania growing and largely unaccounted for
Chinese, Thai or Filipino illegal workers etc.). In the same time, the turbulent regional
environment caused by the Arab Spring represents a very good occasion for the organized
crime to try to smuggle in the EU scores of refugees/immigrants.
The necessity for enhanced EU bodies to oversize the activity of national agencies
which could be subject by a higher degree to corruption by political and criminal means.
Another helpful aspect could be the better and unitary regulation at the EU level
on the issue of legalization of prostitution (the main source of revenues from illegal
human trafficking). The introduction of the European arrest warrant has proved to be a
positive innovation which should be dubbed by further steps towards better intelligence-
sharing and law enforcement.

Conclusion
The free movement of services and the fair status of immigrants within the EU
should represent topics of high interest for the leaders of the European Union, national and
Euro-bureaucratic alike. The largest single market in the world cannot function properly
and propel the European economy at the forefront of globalization if the complex array of
security doesnt guarantee legality and non-discrimination over ethnicity. The Europe
2020 lacks vision on EU citizenship meaning and functions and this negative fact should
give an impetus to activism in order to properly link movement-work-freedom-innovation-
integration-securitization.

George ANGLIOIU

178
BIBLIOGRAPHY
***, UK must plan for Mumbai-style attack, says minister inBBC News, October, 18, 2012,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19988748;
***, Immigrants Flood Capital Ahead of Olympics in The Sun, 24th april 2012,
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4276482/immigrants-flood-capital-
ahead-of-olympics.html;
***, Immigration of Bulgarians and Romanians to UK can't be Restricted Says Europe
in Huffington Post, 14/02/2013 16:03 GMT, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
/2013/02/14/immigration-unlimited-uk_n_2686688.html;
Bagnoli, Sergio, Rapporto Cnel: I Romeni la comunit meno criminale in Italia in Sette
Giorni, pubblicato nell' edizione 435 p. 4 il 2010-07-19, http://www.settegiorni.ro/
index.php?page=detalii&categorie=insieme&id=20100718-2370;
Brown, Larisa, Romanian fraudster who helped to steal 10m in benefits is allowed to
stay in Britain to protect her human rightsinThe Daily Mail, 7 October 2012,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2214081/Romanian-fraudster-helped-steal-
10m-benefits-allowed-stay-Britain-protect-human-rights.html;
Craven, Nick; Arbuthnott, George, Thousands of Bulgarians and Romanians 'Plan to
Flood UK in 2014' as Employment Restrictions Relax in The Daily Mail, January,
27,2013, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268952/thousands-bulgarians-
romanians-plan-flood-uk-2014-employment-restrictions-relax.html;
Gabbatt, Adam, British brothers 'planned Mumbai-style terror attack in Europe in The
Guardian, Thursday September 30 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/
30/british-brothers-terror-attack-europe;
Djuvara, Neagu, Civilisations et lois historiques. Essai dtude compare des
civilisations, Editions Mouton, Paris, 1975;
Leiken, Robert S., See Europe's Angry Muslims inForeign Affairs, July/August 2005,
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/60829/robert-s-leiken/europes-angry-musli
ms?page=show;
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States, Al Qaeda Aims at the
American Homeland, http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch5.htm;
Norton-Taylor, Richard; Bowcott, Owen, Mumbai-style' terror attack on UK, France and
Germany foiled inThe Guardian, Wednesday September, 29, 2010,
http://www.guardianco.uk/world/ 2010/sep/29/terror-attack-plot-europe-foiled;
Sommerlad, Nick, Gangmaster sara recruitment loses licence for self-employment sham
inThe Daily Mirror, February, 1, 2012,http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/
2012/02/gangmaster-loses-licence-for-b.html;
United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Memorandum Order,
Mohammedou Auld Salahi Petitioner, Civil Action No. OS-CV-0569 v. Barack H.
Obama et al. Respondents, p. 12, https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgibin/show_
public_doc?2005cv0569-319.

LEGAL REGULATIONS REGARDING
THE LABOR JURISDICTION IN THE
LEGAL SYSTEMS FROM EU COUNTRIES

Lavinia ONI CA-CHI PEA
*

Abstract: The present paper aims to present in a comparative approach the juridical
regulations regarding the labor jurisdiction in the legal systems from a few EU member
states, based on their common principles.Thus, the scientific method is based on analyzing
the mentioned institution in the context of the two great systems of labor jurisdiction which
can be identified in these law systems. It regards the specialized courts system with its two
forms - the autonomous bodies of labor jurisdiction, found in the German and English
legal system and the labor courts or tribunals, included in the common law legal systems
from France, Italy and Poland with particularities for each country. Also, the use of
ordinary jurisdictions is another system regarding the courts called upon to adjudicate
labor disputes solutions, adopted only of few countries where labor disputes are judged,
as well as other disputes, by the common civil courts, as in the case of Italy for the legal
systems in Europe.The conclusion which can be outlined from this analysis is that in the
labor jurisdiction area exists a wide variety of jurisdictions organizing systems and the
choice for one or another is related to the democratic traditions of the countries, the trade
union movement organization degree, the general mechanisms of creating the human
rights, simple or complicated, in some cases etc. At the same time, the acquisition of
foreign judicial models and their application to different cultural contexts is at risk of
being rejected.

Keywords: labor jurisdiction, European legal systems, comparative analysis, specific
features, common principles

1. Introductory Aspects
As one of the most important areas of employment law, labor jurisdiction issue
was also the subject of on-going concern. Although there are elements of specificity in
terms of State practice and traditions of each country, the mechanism of interstate

*
Lecturer, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: laviniachipea@yahoo.com
Lavinia ONICA - CHIPEA
180
relations, trade unions and employers' interest in issues of jurisdiction is an issue that
characterizes all systems of law.
The institution under the jurisdiction of labor "dome" direct international law,
which explains the diversity and variety subsuming existing regulations in some countries
of the world an idea of unit i.e. recognition level reached by the International Labor
Organization conventions in general principles applicable in this matter reviewed by a
long practice and recognized by the laws of all states
1
.
Starting from these considerations, it is found in labor jurisdiction, a diverse
organization of courts systems, the choice of one or another of them being related to the
democratic traditions of the Member state, the degree of organization of the trade union
movement, the general mechanisms the administration of rights, simple or complicated, in
some cases, etc..

2. The jurisdiction labor systems in Member States of the European Union.
General features
In an attempt of creating a typology of labor jurisdiction in comparative law,
primarily to the existing EU states, it highlights two great systems of labor jurisdiction
2

that can be identified in practice different countries namely:
A. Specialized courts, which are modern forms of employment litigation and have
become in recent years an increasingly large audience
3
. The advantage of these
jurisdictions is that they submit the dispute to competent factors that have recognized
specialist training and can therefore provide maximum accuracy and efficiency of the
solutions it delivers. Even though the special court composed exclusively of professional
judges, such as the case of Spain, they often tripartite composition, being composed and
representatives of trade unions and employers in their role as part of the employment
relationship. In this respect, the German labor courts are organized and operate at all three
hierarchical levels (Labour courts of first instance, Arbeitsgericht
4
Court of Appeal for
labor issues
5
and Federal Labour Court Bundersarbeitsgericht
6
) they are composed of
one or more panels of judges, each judge by profession, who chairs the two judicial
assistants, one each appointed by unions and employers
7
.

1
Constana Clinoiu, Labor Jurisdiction Theoretical and Practical Aspects, Lumina Lex Publishing Press,
Bucharest, 1998, p. 35
2
Ibidem, p. 37
3
Specialized jurisdiction for disputes is working in Western Europe (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Spain, Britain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland), Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia), Latin
America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay) in francophone Africa (Benin Burundi, Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon,Upper Volta, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo,
Zaire), and in many countries in the Middle East (including Israel) and Asia.
4
The number of labor courts in the first instance - currently 123 - is much smaller than the courts dealing with
civil and criminal law, which means that in many cases the distance to be traveled by a court to be higher labor
than for the ordinary. However, it seems that there is no indication that this would affect the promptness of
initiating labor processes.
5
Current number of courts work for issues is 19, in theory they are called regional court work
(Landesarbeitsgericht) - to see, to that effect, Constana. See Constana Clinoiu, op. cit., p. 44.
6
Federal Labor Court is administered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor in consultation with the
Federal Ministry of Justice and is funded by the state since its founding in 1954, the Federal Labor Court was
based in Kassel, a city in the former FRG, so that in November 1999 to move to Erfurt, in the former GDR.
7
Organization of labor jurisdiction is not fundamentally different organizational structures within the
jurisdiction of the ordinary and even administrative jurisdiction. For details of ordinary and administrative
Legal Regulations Regarding the Labor Jurisdiction in the Legal Systems from EU Countries
181
Specialized courts may, in turn, be of two types:
a. A first version one jurisdiction takes the form of autonomous bodies work. Such bodies
are autonomous from legal work in Germany and England, considering that the courts
need to decide solutions to labor disputes have sufficient training in this field, has a good
knowledge of labor issues and to enjoy complete independence and autonomy.
b. A second variant of the specialized courts is the labor courts or tribunals included in
the system of courts of common law, common law systems of France, Italy and Poland.

B. Recourse to ordinary courts is another system in the courts called upon to
adjudicate labor disputes solutions adopted but a few countries where labor disputes are
judged, as well as other disputes, civil courts common law. Thus, Italy is a particular case
in Europe because its Constitution (Article 102) stipulates a monopoly of competence of
ordinary courts is forbidden any jurisdiction exception jurisdictions ban specialized in the
Italian system was actually a reaction against abuses fascist regime, regime that ruled in
turn prud hommale councils who have worked in the legal system until 1926.
Common law procedure applicable labor disputes is as follows: in the first
instance, labor disputes are settled by a single judge (Pretoria), the court, court of appeals,
the cases are settled by a panel of three judges, the third degree of jurisdiction the Court of
Cassation, where organized labor sections consisting of 5 judges. Although labor disputes
are settled by common law judges, they are judges specialized in labor issues and have
experience in this field. The appropriate courts of first and second level of jurisdiction,
because the third, the Court of Cassation, can operate specialized sections in labor
disputes.
A remarkable feature of the Italian system of labor resides in the adaptation of a
labor procedural law, clearly defined by civil procedure, which followed the reforms
implemented in 1973
8
. Its regulatory object is larger, covering not only employment, but
also other relations subordinate. Conciliation settlement as litigation phase of work is
similar to the French system. There is a preliminary stage of conciliation, held before a
tripartite administrative, but not mandatory, possibly direct referral to court (Pretoria).
The main feature of this procedure of resolving labor is represented by an active
role of judge, which is more similar to that of a judge in criminal cases than that of a
civilian judge. Another feature of this procedure is to focus on the trial, all procedural
rules for the application and the principle of celerity.

3. Principles underlying the system of labor jurisdiction
Although there is a great diversity of jurisdiction labor systems it is considered
that some basic principles can be identified, principles which underlie their operation and
which are sometimes expressed by organizational rules themselves, sometimes in the rules
of procedure. Even if they do not have universal value, they are considered sufficient to
characterize labor courts, in comparative law,
9
and covers: participation of individuals
from applying jurisdiction, seeking reconciliation, accessibility.
The individuals participation in the operation of jurisdiction is a first principle
that is based on the idea that labor law cannot be the exclusive monopoly of professional

jurisdiction of the German system. See Ioan Le, Comparative judicial systems, All Beck Publishing House,
Bucharest, 2002, p. 410-419.
8
Law nr. 573 from the 11
th
August 1973 (G.U. 13 Sept. 1973, nr. 237)
9
Allain Supiot, Les jurisdictions du travail, tome 9, Dalloz, Paris, 1987, p. 26
182
lawyers, but includes involvement in one form or another, representatives of both sides of
the employment relationship. It finds expression in the organization of courts and the
litigation procedure.
Organic participation form that stands out most easily finds its full expression in
French Prud` hommale Councils. Thus, the original feature of this jurisdiction is that it is
composed exclusively of elected judges, as if trade tribunal. A presiding professional
judge is removed and stakeholders, employers and employees are judged by their peers
because the law has not given rise to any suggestion that they be designated by the
employer.
The voters who are asked to choose counselors are of different professions,
workers from the age of 16, even the unemployed and foreign workers with the right to
participate in elections
10
. In order for a person to be elected to these councils, he must be
aged 21 years and be of French nationality because he is the judge on behalf of "the
French people". The capacity has to be elected and retired for 10 years from the
withdrawal from activity. Electoral rolls are made taking into account the documents
submitted by the municipality, businesses. The vote takes place on sections during
operation without loss of salary to attract and took place in a place close to the workplace,
proportional representation on the basis of lists of candidates submitted, in general
confederations and organizations employees.
Complaints relating to voters, eligibility to receive regular and lists of candidates
are, by law, for the court of first instance (Article L 513-3, 513-11 N and L, R and S
513-108 C. trav.). Councils are fully renewed from 5 to 5 years. The judge has a "legal
mandate" distinct political mandate (as if MPs) or professional office (as if elected
delegate staff)
11
.
In essence, jurisdiction is based on a tripartite structure or organization, gathering
around a third party, usually a professional magistrate, an equal number of representatives
of workers and employers. In one form or another organic participation is found in most
countries in Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain,
Germany, Norway, the Eastern bloc.
Thus, in Britain, for example, unlike ordinary courts, labor courts have a
tripartite structure
12
. Their president is a professional lawyer (barrister or solicitor) who
was qualified at least 7 years and is appointed by the Lord Chancellor, he is assisted by
two assessors appointed by the Secretary of State on employment issues, the proposal
trade union organizations
13
. Although the president's role is to control the conduct of the
procedure, assessors can intervene and vote that it expresses is equal to the President, in
all situations. Also their position during the resolution of the case is independent, they not
acting as representatives of their organizations. In practice, most decisions are taken by
unanimity.
The practical operation of the organic participation has the most diverse forms,
starting from the identity of representatives, their number or designation, generally unions
participating directly in the election of their representatives. Bipartism or tripartism meet

10
Constana Clinoiu, op.cit., p.58
11
Antoine Mazeaud, Droit de travail, 4 dition, Librairie gnrale de Droit et de Jurisprudence, EJA,
Montchrestien, 2004, p. 160
12
Ioan Le, op.cit., p. 346-347
13
In cases of sexual discrimination efforts are being made for inclusion in the court structure of at least one
woman in the racial discrimination and a member with experience and training in rare problems, in practice
works UTC (Trade Union Congress) and C.B.I. (Confederation British Industry).
183
but only isolated structures judicial hierarchy, still dominated by the presence of
professional judges.
The participation of trade unions and employers' procedure gives greater powers,
allowing them to initiate the process to intervene during his or initiate dispute settlement
proceedings. For example, in Italy, Article 425 of the Code of Civil Procedure allows a
union intervention during the procedure to improve information judge.
The attempt at conciliation or settlement of the parties amicably often represents a
necessary preamble before the onset of the trial. This may be expressly provided by law,
as in Germany, Britain, Italy. It may also represent the implicit subject of a prior default,
like the U.S. opposition procedure or the procedure of Soviet Union, which allow
employment relationship to parties in order to come to an agreement on a disputed case.
For example, the French Prud`hommale Councils is characterized by the fact that
they are the expression of conciliatory jurisdictions, with the purpose to ensure settlement
of disputes by conciliation (L 511-1). Each section includes a tour and a tour conciliation
court (art.511-1) and attempted conciliation is mandatory in the court prud`hommale first
phase (not simply advance). Nevertheless, exceptions to this rule are multiple, while
reconciliation has not ceased to decline since the beginning of the century, so that today's
conciliation phase main effect, and again, only prolonging the trial
14
.
Also, each case referred to the Labor Court of Germany begins with what is called
a conciliation hearing, which takes place only in the presence of a professional judge, who
presides over the court. Hearing result in the removal action may consist in reaching a
compromise or a date for a hearing subsequent confrontation of the parties, held in the
presence of the entire panel of judges, including judicial assistants. Even if "attempt at
conciliation fails"
15
, the court shall, during the litigation that may follow the procedure,
try to reach an amicable settlement of the conflict.
An accessible justice is a justice that all individuals have access easier, faster and
at lower cost. Accessibility is defined widely and is an important goal in the vast majority
of judicial systems being offered as a counter-example to arbitration long, expensive and
mostly inaccessible to a large number of employees (three of four) due to the lack of a
collective agreement.

4. Conclusions
A comparative analysis of the rules governing the procedure for settling labor
disputes would bring to the fore, along with the mentioned common principles, a

14
Jean Plissier, Alain Supiot, Antoine Jeammaud, Droit du travail, 22 dition, ditions Dalloz, Paris, 2004,
p. 1220
15
The doctrine states that approx. 30% of all cases are already settled by conciliation session and the number
of compromises reached during the entire procedure is even higher, substantially higher than in civilian courts,
the judges of the courts of work is often a matter of prestige to succeed obtain a high number of conflicts
amicably resolving the apparent effects of reducing the time required, usually resolving a case. Also cover and
lawyers are concerned that the dispute should be settled amicably. Fees are set by law and does not depend, in
general, the value of the dispute and neither time or number of hearings on who should participate. Thus,
lawyers are interested enough to finish the process quickly through conciliation hearing, for example. In
addition, if the transaction, the law provides a substantial increase in fees for lawyers, get up to about 150% of
normal. Finally conciliation hearing is a means of employee protection against unfair dismissal, the possibility
that the completion of a transaction before the court which contains a reciprocal concession: employee no
longer challenge the legality of dismissal and instead the employer shall pay him an allowance, the amount of
which will be negotiated by the parties. For details see M, Zumfelde, L'Organisation et le functionnement de
la jurisdiction du travail en Allemagne, in the Romanian labor law no. 4/2004, p. 95.
184
considerable number of differences
16
. Questions such as those related to the content and
form of the request, the sequence actions, any corrections of procedural defects, hearing
and evaluating systems tests, acceptance or non-dual authority and ultimately to simplify
the list, whether or not special working procedures are not consistently addressed by law.
This statement can be tested using crude empiricism. An analysis of the procedural law of
France, Germany (to give examples from several countries, whose jurisdiction for labor
disputes is strongly rooted in the social structure) would be sufficient to be able to say,
with reasonable basis, that the diversity prevails over homogeneity. In any case,
irrespective of your chosen specialization, laws are often set in material labor disputes, a
set of principles (oral capacity, urgency, focus, speed, freedom of expression or lack of
spending proposals, to cite a few of most significant). These were not significantly
different over time and all have a common goal: to facilitate access to judicial services to
all who seek justice, primarily workers and their representative organizations. In other
systems, however, judicial protection of labor rights and interests belongs to ordinary
courts, without processes on those rights or interests to be exposed, without being given
special privileges or benefits of technical / procedural or social (without expenses).
In all situations there are provided remedies in order to correct any imperfections
or mistakes made on the occasion of the trial on the merits. Review procedure and the
judgment at first instance are quick to find the shortest possible time legal solutions to
serve conflict resolution.
An important role in the proceedings is unions and employers' organizations,
which may in some cases be represented even conciliation mechanisms, but in all cases to
provide legal assistance to those interested or appear in court as its own, in processes.
In the resolution of work conflicts, negotiation has an important role, in some
cases preceding, necessarily, the use of jurisdiction; in other cases, jurisdiction is entitled
to ask their renegotiation (England).
Labor jurisdiction Troubleshooting knows a number of specific regulations in a number of
countries. Thus, for example, in Germany there is a provision calling on the law, which
seeks unification in labor disputes.
In various systems of work conflict resolution, a more or less role is given to
arbitration mechanisms, their most obvious manifestation being encountered in the
American system.
In order to facilitate the employees access to labor courts or tribunals there are
certain systems of juridical consultancy (Germany); in other cases, such facilities are
provided by the unions.
Despite all the diversity elements mentioned, in most states there is a concern for
improving the resolution of labor disputes, advancing the proposal is to unify systems
jurisdiction (Germany) or for improving the mechanisms by which they administer
(England).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clinoiu, Constana, Labor Jurisdiction Theoretical and Practical Aspects, Lumina Lex
Le, Ioan, Comparative Judicial Systems, All Beck Publishing House, Bucharest, 2002;

16
Fernando Valdes Dal-re, Summary report on the conciliation, mediation and arbitration in EU countries,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, March, 2002, p.34-45;
185
Mazeaud, Antoine, Droit de travail, 4 dition, Librairie gnrale de Droit et de
Jurisprudence, EJA, Montchrestien, 2004;
Plissier, Jean; Supiot, Alain; Jeammaud, Antoine, Droit du travail, 22 ditions Dalloz,
Paris, 2004;
Supiot, Alain, Les jurisdictions du travail, tome 9, Dalloz, Paris, 1987;
Valdes Dal-re, Fernando, Summary report on the conciliation, mediation and arbitration
in EU countries, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, March, 2002;
Zumfelde, M., L'organization et le functionnement de la jurisdiction du travail en
Allemagne, in The Romanian Journal of Labor Law, nr. 4/2004.

BORDER RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC THEORY

Szabolcs PSZTOR
*

Gabor KOZMA
**

Abstract: The paper approaches the possible consequences of further trade liberalization,
regional integration and the disappearance of borders from the angle of well-known
economic theories. After raising the questions and hypotheses, the authors show the
different conclusions of economic approaches in case of futher integration and
disappearing borders in borderlands. Through the results of economic theories the paper
tries to outline a development path of those spatial units where state borders still play an
important role in forming the economic interactions. It comes to the conclusion that only
the regional reshuffiling can be mentioned in connection with the further integration. The
paper also calls the attention to the fact that the economic theories do not give clear-cut
and comprehensive answers for development, so the economic approach could be too
simplistic. Consequently, a well-elaborated empirical research could give a really
nuanced picture of the development path of borderlands.

Keywords: European integration, borderlands, economic theories

1. Introduction
This paper aims to outline the general development path of border regions in the
context of trade liberalization, globalisation and European integration. In this way we try
to conduct a special scientific research. We are aware of the fact that after the appearance
of the independent economic theory, economics has lost its spatial feature. It is true that
the main-stream economic theory still focuses on dimensionless economic territories,
namely countries. Naturally, it does not mean that economic theory totally neglected
certain features, like production factors flow in the economic space and international

*
Assistant, PhD., Department of World Economy and International Relations, Faculty of Economics and
Business Administration, University of Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail: szabolcs.pasztor@econ.unideb.hu
**
Associate professor, PhD., Head of Department of Social Geography and Regional Development Planning,
Faculty of Science and Technology, Institute of Earth Sciences University of Debrecen, Hungary, e-mail:
kozma.gabor@science.unideb.hu
188
production factor allocation. There have always been some researchers and economic
theories in connection with these approaches
1
.
In this paper we place a huge emphasis on the disappearance of borders because
the continuous change of national borders as far as their physical and economic
importance is concerned has become a general trend not just in the European Union but all
over the world
2
. In this new era the borders and borderlands have been more and more
often characterised by different words where the material and symbolic dimensions meet
3
.
This research field has a special importance in the EU where after the enlargement
of 2004 and 2007 the total length of national borders equals to 26,160 km and their
number reaches 62. Besides, we have to point to the fact that there are 16 countries
neighbouring the EU where almost 400 million people live
4
.
If we take into consideration the previous tendencies then we could expect a
border-featured EU where within the regional co-operation, the disappearance of borders
launches different tendencies
5
. The best example is the fact that between 1950 and 1980
state borders were stable in Europe. However, in the 1990s radical economic, social and
political chages took place directly affecting the borders
6
. However, we have to
understand that the Europe without borders concept envisoned by ODowd and Wilson
has not fully came true because in a number of cases Central and Eastern Europe is a
good example we cannot talk about borderless economic areas.As a conseqence, borders
still play a significant role in the territorial processes and define the development
possibilities of borderlands to a great extent. The average border region is characterised by
the followings: they are far from the central area, the border still restricts the economic
interactions and as a consequence these places show a below-average developement
level
7
.That is why the development effects on the borderlands of the European integration
and macro- and micro level consequences enjoy a unique research status
8
.
First, we take into consideration the macro-level features and try to find the
answers for a number of questions. For example: in which way and how can the border
regions take part in the integration process? A lot of other questions are raised: do borders
change significantly, do they become bridges instead of barriers or tunnels? Can the less
developed border regions benefit from the cross-border trade and international
investments or they serve just as corridors in these flows?
We could be interested in whether the geographic location is a defining factor in
the level of economic interactions. A number of border regions are far from the central
markets of the EU and does not have the strategic advantage of proximity to central
places. As a consequence, it is important to know that the other factorss influencing role

1
G., Benko, Regionlis tudomny, Dialg-Campus Kiad, BudapestPcs, 1999, p. 6
2
K., Ohmae, The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies, Free Press, London, 1995, p. 30
3
N., Thrift, New Urban Eras and Old Technological Fears: reconfiguring the goodwill of electronic thingsin
Urban Studies, vol. 33, 8/1996, p. 14631494
4
D. Kallioras, L. Topaloglou,S., Venieris, Tracing the Determinants of Economic Cross-border interaction in
the European Union in SPATIUM International Review, vol. 21, n 1/2009, p.110
5
G., Hanson, Integration and the Location of Activities: Economic Integration, Intra-industry Trade, and
Frontier Regions in European Economic Review, vol. 40, n1/1996, p. 941949; Idem, Market Potential,
Increasing Returns, and Geographic Concentration, NBER Working Paper, 1998, p. 23
6
J. Anderson, L. ODowd, Border, Border Regions and Territoriality: Contradictory Meanings, Changing
Significance inRegional Studies, vol. 33, n 7/1999, p. 593604
7
G. Petrakos, L. Topaloglou, Economic Geography and European Integration: the Effects of on the EU
External Border Regions in International Journal of Public Policy, vol. 2, n 3/4/2008, p. 146162
8
G. Petrakos, The Spatial Impact of East-West Interaction in Europe, Routledge, London, 2000, p. 3868
Border Research and Economic Theory
189
in the evolution and formation of cross-border interactions. Further questions are as
follows: do the border regions in the centre of the EU show different level and special
integration than the far-away ones? Is the economic heritage important in the emerging
integration level? If we direct our attention to micro-level then we have to focus on the
main motives of trading relations. We cannot judge between the importance of geographic
location and market size. Do the nearby territories get more emphasis than the far-away
ones? What kind of and how strong spatial dynamism, energy appears?
9

As we can see questions abound. In order to answer these questions the
researchers can turn to the different economic theories. The development of border
regions, their place in the integration appears in the traditional location theory, trade
theory and New Economic Geography (NEG). We could suppose that the theoretical
approach gives us clear-cut answers for the above-mentioned questions and the
development path of border regions in the European integration can be outlined properly.
In the first part of this study we raise our research questions and set our
hypothesis. The second part deals with the above mentioned economic theories and their
approaches in connection with the development of border regions and the disappearance
of borders in general. The reason for taking three points of view into account is the fact
that we want to give a really nuanced picture of the implications of economic theory. With
the involvement of different economic approaches I try to meet the research requirements
of Jules Henry Poincar
10
. According to him a new result is valuable if it has detected link
between previously separated elements and in this way creates order instead of chaos. In
the third part after summarizing the most important results of economic theories we try
to draw some conclusions.

2. Border Regions in the Mirror of Economic Theory
2.1. Traditional Location Theories
Th traditional location theory focuses on different localisation questions. In this
research field where clear-cut conclusions abound we could detect the interdisciplinary
feature almost from the very inception. The researchers have created a special approach in
connection with borders and border regions
11
.
The spatial effect of economic integration has been mentioned by Lsch
12
.
According to his modell, the consumers and factors of production are immobile and show
perfect distribution in the economic space. Firms taking into consideration such things,
like economies of scale, imperfect competition and own profit usually settle down in those
places where the spatially dispersed demand can be best served. Naturally this approach
counts with transportation costs and its value is supposed to be in proportion with the
distance between consumers and producers. As a concequence, the market area served
from a given point is highly determined.

9
Mendl calls the possibilities stemming from relationships and central location potential energy.See
T.Mendl, ltalnos teleplsfldrajz, Akadmiai Kiad, Budapest, 1963, p. 67
10
J. H. Poincar, LAvenir des mathimatigis, Attidel IV, Congress Internacionale dei Matematici, Real
Academie dei Lincei, Rome, 1909, p. 169
11
W. Christaller, Central Places in Southern Germany, Englewood Cliffs, 1933, p. 53; H. Giersch, Economic
Union beetween Nations and the Location of Industries in Review of Economic Studies, vol. 17, n1/1949/50
p. 8797; A. Lsch, The Economics of Location, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1944/45, p. 65
12
A. Lsch, op.cit., p. 65
190
Lsch continued his research and later he extended his theory
13
. According to the
extended Lschs theory the market areas of centres in case of undisturbed development
has circle, or hexagon shape. Starting from the centre in this way the economic activity
can spread towards every direction. Firms cover hexagon-shaped market areas and their
aim is to reach every point of the economic space.
In case of a strongly dividing border, those units of the settlement network which
are closer to the border are negatively affected. The border simply dissolves the
Christaller-type hexagonal hierarchy-levels and the disappearance of borders unevenly
affects certain territorial units. As a consequence, the market area is far from total, so the
national border distorts the economic area
14
(Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Borders Restricting the Markets

Source: Own compilation based on Niebuhr and Stiller (2002)

Figure 1 obviously shows us that the total or partial impermeability of borders
appears as a distorting element in the market networks. This feature is highlighted by
Nijkamp et al.
15
who also came to the conclusion that borders significantly restirct the free
flow of people, goods and information. According Anssi Paasi, borders serve as filters at
national and international levels. They are such institutions which define the own rules of
entrance and exit, prescribing the volume of goods, capital, services and people well in
advance
16
. As we could see the border-crossing obviously increases the reachable market
area for a firm, but the market at the other side of the border is much smaller than in the
home country (Fig. 1.).Among the reasons we can mention different transaction costs in
connection with crossing the border
17
.
Boggs
18
uses more serious words when ephasising that borders are restrictions to
economic integration. Bearing this in mind we are not taken by surprise when we discover

13
A. Niebuhr, S. Stiller, Integration Effects in Border Regions A survey of Economic Theory and Empirical
Studies in HWWA Discussion Paper, 2004, p. 179
14
Ibidem
15
P. Nijkamp, P. Rietveld, I. Salomon, Barriers in Spatial Interactions and Communication. A Conceptual
Exploratioin Annals of Regional Science, vol. 24, n4/1999, p. 237252
16
A. Paasi, Territories. Boundaries and Consciousness: The Changing Geographies of the Finnish-Russian
Border, John Wiley, Chichester, 1996, p. 78
17
L. Topaloglou, Borders and Integration: Space, Economy, Policies, PhD. Thesis. Volos: Department of
Planning and Regional Development, 2008, p. 28
18
W. Boggs, International Boundaries: A Study of Boundary Funcions and Problems, Columbia University
Press, New York, 1940, p. 34
191
that borders appear as the main barriers to cross-border interactions in border research.
Researchers point to the fact that the borders increase the costs of international trade and
industrial production and in this way they greaty distort the market
19
. Engel and
Rogers
20
came to the conclusion that prices of similar products show much higher
volatility withing countries than between countries.
The decreasing economic room for manuevre significantly influcened the
economic area
21
.This feature is highlighted by Haggett
22
as well when he came to the
conclusion that the additional costs of customs and other things significantly contribute to
the reduction in the market gradius. With the distorsion of market networks and with the
dissolution of market areas the appearance of losses is a scientifically well-determined
fact
23
. Borders divide the market area and in this way negatively affect the market
potential of firms
24
. In this way the lower volume of turnover can give an impetus for the
firm of resigning from the market. As a consequence, firms will be reluctant ot settle
down next to the borders instead they choose centrally located places. We have to
understand that as firms are more far-away from the border and closer to the geographic
centre of a country the larger market area do they reach. As a consequence border regions
will show a much weaker economic activity and only those firms will appear which
require small market area. That is why Lsch
25
calls the borderlands deserts, neglected
spaces. In these spatial units certain products are not available at all or they can be
purchased from distant places. This long distance makes these places unpopular for the
economic activity
26
. A lot of researchers come to the same conclusion
27
.They highlight the
peripheral status of borderlands which can be explained by the borders limiting the free
flow of goods. According to van Houtum
28
we can look upon border region as marginal
places in general.
When borders disappear these regions could see a significant spatial reshuffling in
terms of economic activity
29
. Border regions can increase their level of attractiveness

19
L. Suarez-Villa, Twentieth Century U.S. Regional and Sectoral Change in Perspective in Survey of
Regional Literature, vol. 20, n 1/1992, p. 3239
20
C. Engel, J. H. Rogers, How wide is the border? in American Economic Review, vol. 86, n 5/1996,
p. 11121125
21
G. Hanson, op.cit., 1996, p. 941949; Idem, op. cit., 1998, p. 23
22
P. Haggett, Geogrfia Globlis szintzis, Typotex Kiad, Budapest, 2006, p. 12
23
A. Lsch, op.cit., p. 65; H. van Houtum, An overview of European Geographical Research on Borders and
Border Regions inJournal of Borderlands Studies, Special Issue on European Perspectives on Borderlands,
vol. 15, n 1/2000, p. 5785
24
It can be interesting to point to the fact that market areas are distorted not just by borders but a larger number
of other things. See T. Hardi, A hatrtrsg trszerkezeti jellemzi in Tr s Trsadalom, vol. 32, n 3/2008,
p. 325
25
A. Lsch,op. cit., p. 65
26
M. Dimitrov,G. Petrakos, S. Totev, M. Tsiapa, Cross-Border Cooperation in Southeastern Europe: The
Enterprises Point of View in Eastern European Economies, vol. 41, n5/2002, p. 525
27
H. Giersch, op.cit., p. 8797; F. Heigl, Ansatze einer Theorie der Grenze, sterreichischen Gesellschaft fr
Raumforschung und Raumplannung (Bd. 26.), Wien, 1978, p. 67; P. Nijkamp, P. Rietveld, I. Salomon, op.cit.,
p. 237252; K., Czimre Cross-Border Co-operation Theory and Practice, Kossuth Egyetemi Kiad,
Debrecen, 2006, p. 38
28
H. van Houtum, op.cit., p. 5785
29
N. Hansen, The nature and significance of transborder cooperation in the Mexico-US borderlands: Some
empirical evidencein Journal of Borderland Studies, vol. 1, 2/1986, p. 5765; O. Martinez, Across
boundaries: Transborder interaction in comparative perspective, Texas Western Press, El Paso, 1986, p. 12;
T. Wilson, H. Donnan, Border Identities: Nation and State at International Frontier, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, 1998, p. 42
192
when barriers to trade disappear and when they are capable of accessing the external
markets. So the borderless space means a significant increase in the potential market.
Firms could be relocating their economic activity toward borderlands and new tradable
goods can turn up. However, we call the attention to the fact that these positive tendencies
affect those centrally located border regions which could serve a larger market. If it
happens border regions at the crossroads of internal and external markets can significantly
increase the capacity of production during the integration. Giersch
30
argues the same and
outlines a favourable development path for the centrally located border regions in the
European Communities. In paralell, Topaloglou and Petrakos
31
mentions that peripheries
and semi-peripheries cannot benefit from the enlarging economic space.
Summarizing the most important conclusions of traditional location theories, we
argue the border areas are less-developed within a closed-economy. In case of economic
integration several positive spatial effects emerges but only thos spatial units can benefit
from the processes which are closer to foreign markets and are capable of increasing their
market potential. As a consequence rurual, underdeveloped places cannot fully reap the
rewards of economic integration.

2.2. Trade Theories
When presenting the relation between trade theories and spatial development we
would like to give a nuanced picture so we go back in time even to the classics. Adam
Smith focused on the effect of absolute advantages and flow of factors of production on
international (cross-border) trade. David Ricardo studied the comparative advantages
between countries. After the marginalist revolution of the XX centurty Heckscher and
Ohlin continued this thread of thougth but their results still lacked the spatial feature.
Later the neoclassical trade theory pointed to the fact that economic integration
leads to higher-level product specialization in case of those products which are produced
at lower costs with comparative advantages. So some argue that the cross-border
economic activities lead to a more cost-effective spatial division of labour
32
.This
neoclassical trade theory focuses mainly on the inter-industrial trade between countries
with different production structures.
If we take into consideration the integration theories stemming from the 50s
which are based on the neoclassical trade model
33
we have to point to the fact that the
spatial dimension still remains an unearthed field
34
. The latest models incorporate the
feature of economies of scale and monopolistic competiton and in these approaches the
national borders appear as customs or customs-free barriers to trade. This is confirmed by
van Houtum
35
who comes to the conclusion that borders in general decrease the volume of
international trade
36
.

30
H. Giersch, op. cit., p. 8797
31
L. Topaloglou, G. Petrakos, op.cit., p. 44
32
P. Nijkamp, Border region and infrastructure networks in European integration processes in Environment
and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 11, n4/1993, p. 431446; H.van Houtum, op. cit., p. 5785
33
A. Tovias, A Survey of the Theory of Economic Integration in Journal of European Integration, vol. 15,
n 1/1991, p. 523
34
Zs. Trn, Az Eurpai Uni regionlis politikjnak cljai s eredmnye, Debreceni Egyetem, Egyetemi
doktori rtekezs Debrecen, 2009, p. 25
35
H.van Houtum, op. cit., p. 5785
36
Giving emipirical evidence Brcker and Bruinsma, conform that an average Western European border
increases the transportation cost by 375 km and reduces the volume of trade one-sixth. See J. Brcker, Howdo
193
The traditional and newer trade models clearly point to the fact that disappearing
barriers to trade increase international trade
37
. Ohlin
38
was the first who tried to incorporate
the spatial features in the trade theories. According to his main result, every result of
international trade models can be applied to interregional trade links as well.
Later Rauch
39
tries to blend the smaller spatial units, cities with the elements of
trade theories. In this way he makes such a model where spatial features are incorporated.
In this model the volume of trade is defined by trasportation costs within and between
countries. He argues that ports are the most important places of attraction for economic
activities simply because they have access to foreign markets with lower costs. In case of
equilibrium, the size of population and income generated in cities gradually decrease
when we go towards the centre of a country. With these results it is clear that location is a
serious issue as far as the regional adaptation of international trade is concerned. The
location plays an important role in case of the costs when accesssing foreign markets.
Better access to trade is favourable for those firms which are export-oriented and location
in itself can stimulate economic development.
Naturally, not only ports take part in international trade so other spatial units with
better access to foreign markets can also be attractive in connection with attracting export-
oriented companies.
Taken everything into account, when we approach the regional effects of
international trade theories then we could face a lot of obstacles. However, we should not
neglect this relationship because the current models are relevant in connection with
integration issues. One thing is definitely true: when liberalising international trade
changes can be seen in national product and spatial structure. Unfortunately, we do not
have a clear picture of the influence of macro-level production structure on regions within
a country. As a consequence our picture is distorted because we cannot make consistent
conclusions about the trade liberalisation effect on borderlands. Nevertheless, one thing is
definitely true, the reallocation of production factors between economic sectors results
different effects within countries. This is mentioned in the Rauch model. Based on the
presumptions of Rauch, those border regions which access foreign market at lower costs
become natural production zones
40
.

2.3. New Economic Geography
The birth of New Economic Geography (NEG) is associated with Paul Krugman
who created the core-periphery model with his seminal paper
41
. Later, Krugman and
others modified the baseline theroretical framework and evolved a large palette of NEG
models. The approaches focuse on the spatial distribution of economic activities and they
try to explain the regional disparities fully with endogeneous localisaton decisions
42
.

International Trade Barriers affect Interregional Trade?Theories, North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1994,
p. 219239; F. Bruinsma, De Invloed van Transportinfrastructuur op Ruimtelijke Patronen van Economische
Activiteiten, Nederlandse Geografische Studies, Utrecht/Amsterdam, 1994, p. 72.
37
A. Niebuhr, S. Stiller, op.cit., p. 179
38
B. Ohlin, Interregional and International Trade, Harvad University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1967, p. 44
39
J. E. Rauch, Comparative Advantage, Geographic Advantage and the Volume of Trade in The Economic
Journal, vol. 101, n 1/1991, p. 12301244
40
G. Hanson, op. cit., 1996, p. 941949
41
P. R. Krugman, Geography and Trade, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1991, p. 19
42
A. Niebuhr, S. Stiller, op. cit., p. 179.

194
The explicit spatial structure is an initial feature of the models and the
interregional trade costs, economies of scale and monopolistic competition as well.
According to the theory, the spatial equilibrium is reached as a consequence of the
localisationdecisions of firms and consumers in the economic space. The balanced
distribution of workers and firms in space largely depends on centripetal forces (fostering
the concentration of economic activities) and centrifugal forces (fostering the dispersion
of economic activities in space). If centripetal forces are stronger, than firms and
consumers disperse unevenly in economic space. In this case such agglomerations emerge
where economic activity shows huge density and as a consequence in certain areas lower
firm presence emerges.
This also appears in the Heigl
43
model where the state border further intensify the
centripetal forces creating new economic centres at both sides of the border (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Centripetal Effect of Borders

Source: Heigl (1978)

The so called backward and forward linkages appear beacuse the consumers settle
close to the producers while producers do the same. In this way huge disparities can
emerge in the density of economic activities as far as the centre and border regions are
concerned. Ceteris paribus wages are higher in those places which are closer to larger
markets than those which are further from the centres. In this way the NEG approaches
indicates that centrally located regions (border regions) enjoy different advantages within
an economic union. When the international trade is liberalised these places see the largest
increase in their market potential. The markets at both sides of the border simply merge.
In this way the central border regions will be the most favourable places within an
economic union.
Alonso Villar
44
confirms this and argues that border regions take much advantage
of trade liberalisation. According to Brlhart et al.
45
, the new trade relations can largely

43
F. Heigl, op.cit., p. 67
44
O. Alonso Villar, Spatial distribution of production and international trade: A note in Regional Science
and Urban Economics, vol., 29, n3/1999, p.371380
45
M. Brlhart, C. Matthieu, K. Pamina, Enlargement and the EU Periphery: The Impact of Changing Market
Potentialin Discussion Paper 270, Hamburg Institute of International Economics, 2004, p. 10; M. Crozet,
195
imfluence the agglomerationa and dispersion forces. They argue that border regions
benefit from the trade liberalisation if the proportion of mobile economic activity is larger
before the liberalisation, the level of liberalisation is very strong, the external market is
bigger, the sectoral composition of the external market is complementary.
Summarizing these results we have to point to the fact that border regions are
with some conditions the main beneficiaries of economic integration. Free trade can give
impetus for the development of border regions.

3. Conclusions and Discussion
This paper tried to outline the development path of borderlands in the light of
trade liberalisation and globalisation. In order to create a nuanced picture it used the
results of three different economic theories. After studying the dissimilar theoretical point
of views of traditional location, trade theory and New Economic Geography it highlights a
massive reshuffling tendency as far as economic centres of gravity of regions is
concerned. This comes from the fact that transportation costs are decreasing. It is certain
that integration changes the allocation of resources within countries and between countries
as well. However, the effect of international factors of production flow on the spatial
distribution of economic activity so far has not been in the centre of intense research
interest. There are only some papers which draw important conclusions but these results
must be treated with special care and there are no possibilities of making generalisations.
According to the traditional location theory and the models of New Economic
Geography the external trade changes the internal economic geography pattern and as a
consequence new industrial centres can emerge. It happens because the external
orientation of economic activities becomes more significant than the internal and the
integration changes the reference markets for both the consumers and suppliers.
As a consequence, the resourceallocation in connection with this could be
benefical for the border regions. The disappearing borders give access to larger markets so
the economic attrativeness of border regions can increase. In this way it is obvious that
distance and market size significantly define the balance of centripetal and centrifugal
forces stemming from the removal of borders
46
.Due to the proximity to integration
partners, the centrally located border regions could enjoy a cost advantage in the cross-
border trade with neighbouring countries.
In connection with market access, the New Economic Geography and the
traditional location theories argue that with the disappearance of borders the new
economic pattern could attract the customers, factors of production and firms to the
centrally located border regions. However, the geographically disadvantaged border
regions could not benefit from the international trade since they face higher transportation
costs.

P. Koenig, EU enlargement and the internal geography of countries in Journal of Comparative Economics,
vol. 32, n 2/2004, p. 265278
46
D. Kallioras, Regional and Sectoral Impact of the EU Enlargement on the EU New Member States, PhD.
Thesis, Volos: Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, 2007, p. 61;
L. Topaloglou, Borders and Integration: Space, Economy, Policies, PhD. Thesis, Volos: Department of
Planning and Regional Development, 2008, p.28; L. Topaloglou, G., Petrakos, op. cit., p. 44
196
This approach is based on the fact that the integration further increases the market
potential of previously integrated border regions. Petrakos
47
argues that in an economic
union the cross-border backward and forward spillover effects can launch self-enforcing
tendencies which are beneficial mainly for centrally-located border regions. Those regions
with increasing returns to scale simply show better performance than the less developed.
The underdeveloped regions face falling behind or long-term peripheral status. If there are
still trade barriers than the most successful regions will be clustered around the capital.
The trade barriers simply further burden the reallocation of economic activity towards
peripheral areas. If we are consistent enough, we understand that these theories do not
give us clear-cut answers for our research questions. Only empirical evidence can show us
the spatial allocation of factors of production in a liberalised world. Outlining the
development path of border regions by economic theories can be misleading well-
elaborated empirical approach is needed.

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THE ROMANIAN WORKERS AND THE INTEGRATION
IN STABLE SYSTEM OF LABOUR MARKET IN THE
NORDIC COUNTRIES

Mihaela Ioana TEAC
*

Carmen Oana MIHIL
**

Abstract: Fluctuations in the European labour market, countries debt crisis, economic
instability and exchange rate fluctuations, caused a contraction of the cheap labour from
Eastern Europe to Western countries and the adaptation of a more cautious policy
towards immigrants, while increasing social protection of own citizens. Although
countries such as Spain, Italy and France have absorbed a large number of Romanian
workers, these countries do not currently offer a real guarantee and job security as it was
a few years ago. Today, the offers embraced by Romanians are in the Nordic countries
Denmark, Sweden, where there is a clear economic stability, an effective protection of
employees and where the partnership employers-unions works viably. Whether we talk
about unions in the public servants branch, or about unions that protect employees in the
private sector, there are clear rules on redundancy, retirement, leave, plus internal
agreements between firms and employees. A very important aspect for Romanian workers
is the transparency proved by the entire legal framework of the labour law, the concept of
black labour being non-existent. Arrival and employment of foreign workers is not done
until under a work permit and after checks by the Danish Immigration Service which
requests an approval from the Labour Office in Denmark. The work permit is approved
only if it is found that there is no workforce available in Denmark or in the EU. In
Denmark, labour time is usually determined by the social partners through collective
agreements. In most sectors, the set working time is 37 hours a week. Also, there is a law
regulating the minimum conditions related to the maximum working time per week, breaks
and night work. The maximum working time is 48 hours per week calculated as an
averaged over a maximum of 4 months. Where working time exceeds 6 hours per day, the
employee is entitled to a break, and for night work, the employee must not work more than
8 hours every 24 hours along the reference period of 4 months.

Keywords: stability, labour market, employee-employer

*
Assistant, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: mihaela.teaca@yahoo.fr
**
Lecturer, PhD., Faculty of Law,University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: carmen_oana2000@yahoo.com

200
Fluctuations in the European labour market, countries debt crisis, economic
instability and exchange rate fluctuations, caused a contraction of the cheap labour from
Eastern Europe to Western countries and the adaptation of a more cautious policy towards
immigrants, while increasing social protection of own citizens. Although countries such as
Spain, Italy and France have absorbed a large number of Romanian workers, these
countries do not currently offer a real guarantee and job security as it was a few years ago.
Today, the offers embraced by Romanians are in the Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden,
where there is a clear economic stability, an effective protection of employees and where
the partnership employers-unions works viably. Whether we talk about unions in the
public servants branch, or about unions that protect employees in the private sector, there
are clear rules on redundancy, retirement, leave, plus internal agreements between firms
and employees. A very important aspect for Romanian workers is the transparency proved
by the entire legal framework of the labour law, the concept of black labour being non-
existent. Arrival and employment of foreign workers is not done until under a work permit
and after checks by the Danish Immigration Service which requests an approval from the
Labour Office in Denmark. The work permit is approved only if it is found that there is no
workforce available in Denmark or in the EU. In Denmark, labour time is usually
determined by the social partners through collective agreements. In most sectors, the set
working time is 37 hours a week. Also, there is a law regulating the minimum conditions
related to the maximum working time per week, breaks and night work. The maximum
working time is 48 hours per week calculated as an averaged over a maximum of 4
months. Where working time exceeds 6 hours per day, the employee is entitled to a break,
and for night work, the employee must not work more than 8 hours every 24 hours along
the reference period of 4 months.
Analyzing different aspects of the single European market, a series of opinions
have been issued, considering that this uniqueness undermines social right sand social
protection. But it is undeniable that the best social protection systems are in the western
and northern Europe. Their quality and efficiency was maintained after initial reforms in
various services - social care, education, police services, public health, social insurance
etc. - reform that assumed rationalization of social spending.
The introduction of the single market principles in public services has led to
increased competition although not necessarily to increased quality of services as well.
Under such circumstances, the income acquired at theEuropean government budgets was
more and more consistent, enabling the development of new facilities and supplies in the
service sector.
It was shown in a study that there are four groups of distinctive countries with
relatively similar social practices:
1.Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, which record the
highest rates of social spending in GDP on the principle of citizenship. To support
these expenditures, these countries apply relatively high government taxation and use
a great variety of tools and active social policies;
2. Anglo-Saxon countries (UK and Ireland) have adopted the Beveridge model, in
which the social transfers go mainly to those engaged in work (of working age) who
gain relatively low incomes, a system that is supplemented with relatively developed
social services;
3.Continental countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg) adopted
the Bismarck model, based extensively on social insurance scheme, financed by
contributions of the people employed;
The Romaniens Workers and the Integration in Stable System of Labour Market in the Nordic Countries
201
4.Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal), generated models based on
systems of social insurance where the benefits granted are widely varied, according
to the taxpayers statuses
1
.
Northern European social insurance systems differ consistently from that in the
southern part of the continent. The northern ones achieve the highest efficiency in
reducing economic and social polarization. Those in the south, on the contrary, are the
worst in this regard. Nordic social systems provide benefits particularly to eligible persons
of working age. The southern ones provide them especially to pensioners. The Anglo-
Saxon system is more effective in reducing economic polarization in the population of
working age rather than among pensioners.
In the undeclared competition of social protection in Europe, it seems that the
Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands, applying more active
labour market policies, are the best. In the last lines of this classification we find the
Mediterranean countries - Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain - involved socially especially
in the field of pensions and of wages regulation through collective bargaining
2
.
As we know, the Romanian population showed a wide opening to the idea of
accession to the EU, Romanians associating the idea of prosperity with EU membership.
Indeed, European influences could have generated more prosperity in Romania (for a thin
layer of the population they even generated), but it is difficult to say to what extent some
benefits were also felt by the majority of the population
3
. There still is some sort of
certainty. Since 1990, poverty in our country has reached unprecedented values, the
reform process being associated with asocial declineand decay, with unemployment by
dissolution of many economic and social objectives of high general interest (everything
that functioned with losses and all that prevented the western European market from
making huge profits in Romania), with social insecurity (by the rather symbolic nature of
the social protection) and with the loss of some rights acquired in many years of work and
sacrifice.The topic of high social costs of economic transitionin Romania, as a result of a
modest social protection, have drawn the attention of social and political analysts for two
decades, being of no less interest nowadays, when the current crisis, more devastating than
the transition, has deeply shaken the country
4
.
From among the European models and practices that our country would have
liked to assimilate more quickly, we note: a more transparent and stable political and
economic climate; a higher level of predictability of the economic environment; a political
will more determined to stimulate domestic competitiveness; a truly authentic social
orientation based on recognizing the utmost importance of human capital factor in any
approach to social development, in the development of more intelligent economic policies,
in more discernment when it comes to the dissolution of economic objectives of national
importance, in the simplification of taxation, in reducing corruption and taking up higher
quality production technologies to lower production costs in major industries (energy,
transport, infrastructure, etc.).

1
M. Ferrera, The Four Social Europe: between Universalism and Selectivity, 1998,
2
Mariana Stanciu, Integrarea Romniei n piaa unic europeana (Integration of Romania in the European
Single Market), (foreword Integrarea (Integration...)), in Revista Inovaia Social (Social Innovation
Journal), no. 3/2011 (January - June), p. 6
3
Marian Pan, 2011: datoria extern a Romniei. Cine i ct datoreaz, care i cnd pltete, http://cursde
guvernare.ro/datoria-externa-a-romaniei-cine-si-cat-datoreaza-care-si-cand-plateste.html, accessed in
23.01.2013
4
M. Stanciu, Politici sociale i globalizare n rile europene (Social policies and globalisation in the
European countries) in Revista Calitatea Vieii (Life Quality Journal), vol. XVIII/2007, no. 1-2
202
Romaniais the second largest national market in Central and Eastern Europe. As
anactive agent on the European market, Romania has several real advantages such as
5
:
- a favourable geostrategic position, located at the intersection of major trade routes
between Western Europe and Asia, from southern Europe (Mediterranean Sea) and
northern Europe;
- facilities of inland water way and sea navigation (Constanta -Black Sea port, location
on the route Danube Channel Rhine Main that link the Black Seato the North Sea);
- well-qualified work force, many experts in technology, computer science and
engineering;
- reserves of natural resources;
- large areas of agricultural land;
- large tourism potential though poorly capitalized.
Following some information coming from EURES, it was shown that in the first
five months of 2012, a total of 114 Romanians obtaine demployment contracts abroad
through EURES, a network of cooperation between European public employment
services, supported by the National Agency for Employment (NAE), according to data
submitted by Gndul
6
.
In the first quarter of 2008 alone, representatives of the network mediated
discussions between 208 people interested in getting a new job and potential employers
abroad. Most sought jobs abroad were those of workers in agriculture in Denmark,
Finlandand, Spain, with 136 people interested in them.

In 2011 1,563 people were able to get a work contract abroad through EURES, of
which 96.2% worked in agriculture, asseasonal workers or in unskilled jobs, for periods of

5
M. Stanciu, Integrarea (Integration...), p.126
6
Mirabela Boru, Ci romni au plecat, n 2012, la munc n strintate prin reeaua EURES, www.radio-
resita.ro/cati-romani-au-plecat-in-2012-la-munca-in-strai..., accessed in 23.01.2013
203
time ranging between one and six months or as workers in skilled positions. The latter had
signed employment contracts with durations between 18months and two years.

As for the labour market in Denmark, it opened forRomanian workers from May
1, 2009, allowing them to engage in work without detaining a work permit at the moment
of leaving Romania. Their employment is made on equal terms as that of the citizens of
the state or the citizens of other EU member states. According to the Danish law, foreign
companies specialized in job placements for services in this country are required to
register themselves with theRegistry for Foreign Service Providers.
The Danish Ministry of Labour ordered inter alia, as mandatory measures, starting
on May 1, 2009, the requirement, for foreign companies providing services in Denmark,
that they have to register with the "Register for Foreign Service Providers - RUT". The
companies interested must submit information to RUT about each service that the
company provides in Denmark. It is very likely that the companies concerned shall need
to register as VAT payers. The three main ideas to be considered by Romanian companies
interested are the following
7
:
Foreign companies must register and transmit information about the company, and
about each service provided;
Foreign companies must register with the Registry for Foreign Service Providers
before starting work in Denmark;
Those foreign companies that do not comply with the above provisions may be fined
by the Danish police.
The measures taken by the Danish state are in accordance with Directive
96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16.12.1996 concerning the
placement of labour force in order to provide services and in accordance with the Danish
law on labour placement
8
.
The objective of this Directive is to reconcile the exercise of the fundamental
freedom of providing cross border services, under Article 56 of the EC Treaty, with the
need to assure due protection of the rights of workers temporarily posted abroad for this
purpose
9
. To do this, the directive sets binding rules at EU level to be applied to workers

7
See Registration of Foreign Services,http://www.virk.dk/cms/render/live/en/sites/english/home/rut.html,
accessed in 24.01.2013
8
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996L0071:EN:HTM, accessed in 23.01.
2013
9
Directive 96/71/CE of the European Parliament and of the European Council of December 16, 1996, on
posting of workers for provision of services, JO 1997 L 18.
204
posted in the host country
10
.
Denmark is a prosperous well organized state and, member of the European
Union, which welcomes foreign workers with open arms. Denmark has a unique labour
market. It is distinguished by the fact that here the employers and unions jointly assume
responsibility for most aspects of labour market issues, aspect that are in other countries
regulated by law. The partners roles so established assure civilized relations, high wages
and good working conditions. Also, it is possible that foreign workers or foreign
companies to become members of various Danish organizations (unions or patronages)
11
.
Wage conditions of foreign workers in Denmark are the same as those of the
Danish workers. Foreign workers should not be considered second-class. There are other
advantages as well. For example, after only three months of work in Denmark, a foreign
worker gets the Danish national health insurance card and hence free health care. When
the Danish labour market opened for new member countries of the European Union they
did not accept any compromise on working conditions. This has led some workers to have
the impression that it was hard to get to the Danish labour market
12
. Concrete possibilities
that a Romanian citizen finds work in Denmark are real. Thus, for this purpose, one may
reside in Denmark for up to six months. During this period, the persons have to be able to
sustain themselves. By the time the job was obtained, the foreign employee must apply for
residence and work permit in Denmark. These aspects must be solved before starting the
work in the new job, except the case when the foreign worker found a job in one of the
2000 Danish companies which since 2009 have been allowed to hire Eastern European
labour force. There shall be noticed the possibility offered to work independently and to
influence own work. If later the foreign worker will want to change job, this will require
getting a new work and residence permit. Meanwhile, the worker can continue to work at
the old job while the application for extension of work permit and residence is processed.
These conditions do not apply if the foreign employee has worked for a whole year,
uninterruptedly, Denmark. The goal is, of course, to keep the new employees in their jobs
as much as possible
13
.

DENMARK
Social security system
Denmark has a high level of social security, which is partially funded by taxes.
Participation in most branches of Danish social security system is mandatory. Therefore
there is no need to fulfil any formality, apart from the unemployment insurance which is
optional. Regarding disease, birth, baby and parenting conditions, pensions, Denmark is a
safe country. Foreigners who come to Denmark are insured within the social security
system as soon as they start work.
As stated in the European forms (E), there are certain areas that require
presentation of certain documents that you must have on you to avoid waiting periods. It is
the case of sickness insurance and unemployment insurance. Social insurance in Denmark,

10
Presentation of the Commission to the Council, to the European Parliament, to the European Economic and
Social Committee, to the Committee for Regions posting of workers for provision of services increase of
its benefits and potential, granting the workers protection as well. COM(2007) 304 final. 2.
11
http://www.posting.dk/new/en/rules/act_concerning%20posting_of_workers.pdf, accessed in 23.01.2013
12
ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?acro=lmi&lang=ro&parentId..., accessed in 23.01.2013
13
http://www.danemarca.dk/index.php?c=2894, accessed in 23.01.2013
205
cover both employed and self-employed people and include: health insurance, medical
care, free hospitalization, sickness benefit, maternity and paternity leave, vocational
rehabilitation, national old age pension, early retirement pension, survivor's pension,
family allowance, insurance for work accidents and occupational diseases, unemployment
benefits and cash benefits. In all these areas, however, certain conditions must be met
14
.

The dole. The unemployment benefit
The following category of people can opt for affiliation to an unemployment fund
(arbejdslshedskasse or briefly a-kasse):
1- All employees aged between 18 and 65
2- Young people who have completed some form of training of at least 18 months,
which are looking for a job and register with an unemployment fund within two
weeks after completion of the training
Unlike other forms of social security, unemployment insurance is optional.
Unemployment funds have been established by unions, but are both financially and
administratively independent from them. There is no need to be a member of the union so
that you can join an unemployment fund. Unemployment funds are different, on particular
professions, but there are also general funds. If you were affiliated to an unemployment
insurance scheme in another Member State, you may, go on starting work in Denmark, get
affiliated to the unemployment fund acknowledged for your profession. To find out if
there is an unemployment fund recognized for your profession, or general funds or a funds
for self-employed, you shall contact the National Directorate of Employment
(Arbejdsdirektoratet), which can give you details on the current level of contribution.
Conditions:
1. Unemployment insurance
To be entitled to obtain unemployment benefit, you must:
A. To have involuntarily become unemployed because unemployment funds are not
required to pay benefits if you become unemployed due to a strike or labour dispute
B. To be registered at the local unemployment service (Arbejdsformidling or AF in
Danish) as looking for a job and to fulfil all the conditions of the unemployment
insurance scheme, i.e. regular visits to the employment office
C. To be actively seeking for work and able to accept a job
D. To have been a member of an unemployment fund for at least 1 year. The periods of
insurance or employment in another Member State can be considered; for this
purpose one must submit form E301, which may be obtained from the institution of
unemployment in the country where the person was last employed;
E. To have been an independent or employed worker for at least 52 weeks in the last
three years. The military service and certain periods of training are taken into account
as periods of work. One shall lose the right to unemployment benefits at the age of
65.

Unemployment benefits:
Theyare paid at the end of the period and the applicant has to fill in a card
(dagpengekort) for each period for which benefits are requested.

14
www.muncainstrainatate.anofm.ro/accesul-lucr-torilor-rom-ni-pe-piatamuncii, accessed in 24.01.2013
206
The highest value of unemployment benefit is 667 DKK per day or 3270 DKK a
week (figures from 2006).
There is a benefit capset at 90% of previous earnings.
Unemployment benefits will be calculated based on payment rolls in the last three
months, are subject to taxation and payable up to five years.For the self-employed
workers, they are calculated based on their average income on the best two years of the
last five
15
.

Family and maternity allowances
In addition to the detailed rules on grants and aid to families with reliant children,
it is important to note that in Denmark great importance is given to the rights and welfare
of children. Safety and welfare of children are provided in many ways, in addition to
financial support. Children are often the focus of public debate and news. These regard the
childrens food habits, road safety, development opportunities, the impact of media and
new ways of learning.
It is important to be able to gain an insight into the benefits and aid provided to
children and their families.
Benefits offered:
1. Child benefits granted for all children under 18;
2. Family allowances (in addition to the benefits for children):
a) General family allowances (ordinrt brnetilskud) for children from single parent
families or where both parents receive old age pension (folkepension) or early
retirement money (frtidspension); age limit is also 18;
b) Additional family allowances (ekstra brnetilskud) for isolated parents whose
children receive general family allowances, one sole supplementary family
allowance is granted, independently of the number of children;
c) Special family allowances (srligt)

Pensions
Early voluntary retirement pension (efterln)
At the age of 60 a person will receive a certificate of early retirement
(efterlnsbevis). If he decides to postpone early retirement until the age of 62, he will at
that moment receive full pension. If instead, he decides to accept early retirement at age
60, he will receive only 91% of the full pension. To be eligible for early retirement, one
should:
A- Live in Denmark;
B- Be between 60 and 67;
C- Have contributed to an unemployment fund at least 25 years of the 30 years before
the early retirement and to have contributed to the early retirement regime;
D-To be able to work and meet the conditions to receive unemployment benefits;
E- Not to be a social pensioner;
F- To stop any work activity for 4 weeks from the moment of getting an early
retirement;

15
www.mmuncii.ro/pub/imagemanager/images/file/.../Danemarca.pdf, accessed in 23.01.2013

207
G- You have the right to work while receiving early retirement. The hours worked will
be deducted from the pension and if you work more than 29.6 hours a week you
will not receive early retirement benefit at all; finally, if you work more than 37
hours per week, the excess will be deducted the next week;
H- You can receive early voluntary retirement in another EU member state, but only
after you have consulted the unemployment fund that you are affiliated to.

Pension Early retirement (frtidspension)
One can ask for early retirement if you can no longer work or support yourself
due to physical, mental or social circumstances. In order to be granted early retirement, it
is necessary that all other ways to improve work capacity have proved to be useless. The
reform aims to strengthen efforts to help people stay in work and to ensure people who are
unable to work or support themselves, a maintenance allowance to compensate for the
lack of ability to work.

Health insurance
General procedures:
All people living in Denmark receive a health insurance card.
The card is issued automatically following registration with the National Registry
(Folkeregisteret).
Generally children under 16 do not receive a health insurance card but parents can
require the municipality / government to issue cards on their names.
People have to present their health insurance card regardless of the category of
insured they belong to (I or II).
To be entitled to sickness benefits from the government, an employee must:
1. have been in contact with the labour market for 13 months prior to the occurrence of
the disease and have been employed at least 120 hours during this period or
2. have completed a vocational rehabilitation program of at least 18 months
3. have performed a paid activity as an apprentice or trainee in a recognized vocational
program
The insurance category to which people belong is indicated on their health
insurance card. In the first category people are registered with a certain general
practitioner. In category II people are not registered with a general practitioner. 3% choose
category II. Treatment in public hospitals is free for all persons, regardless of the category
of insurance they have.

Sickness benefits paid by employer:
If a person is sick and has been employed for 8 weeks prior to the absence and has
worked at least 74 hours during this period, his/her private employer is obliged to pay a
daily allowance for 2 weeks (liability period) starting with the first day of absence (sick
leave).

208
Sickness benefits paid by government:
If a person will not be able to work for more than two weeks and at the start of the
disease he /she was not entitled to sickness benefits from the employer, sick leave will be
paid by the government.
Sickness benefits are considered to be on short term, after at most three months
and then every three months, the government must re-examine the situation of the insured
person and, if necessary, to allow him/her to follow a professional training or a vocational
rehabilitation
16
.
This whole system of social security benefits, apparently dense, but extremely
effective, has made Denmark an attractive destination for Romanian workers, determined
to work abroad. Language impediment was overcome by using English as the language of
communication in the various institutions. Romanians capacity to adapt proved to be
extremely high, and compliance with a system where the notion of corruption is regarded
as an extreme exception proved very easy as long as the double standard is not used. The
respect for human and the acknowledged real values were successfully assimilated and
today we can speak of a labour market open for Romanians, as for EU citizen imposing
the same obligations and offering the same rights.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Directive 96/71/CE of the European Parliament and of the European Council of December
16, 1996, on posting of workers for provision of services, JO 1997 L 18;
Presentation of the Commission to the Council, to the European Parliament, to the
European Economic and Social Committee, to the Committee for Regions posting
of workers for provision of services increase of its benefits and potential, granting
the workers protection as well.COM (2007) 304 final. 2;
Registration of Foreign Services, http://www.virk.dk/cms/render/live/en/sites/english
/home/rut.htmlaccessed in 23.01.2013;
Boru, Mirabela, Ci romni au plecat, n 2012, la munc n strintate prin reeaua
EURES, www.radio-resita.ro/cati-romani-au-plecat-in-2012-la-munca-in-strai...,
accessed in 23.01.2013;
Ferrera M., The Four Social Europe: between Universalism and Selectivity, 1998;
Pan, Marian, 2011: datoria extern a Romniei. Cine i ct datoreaz, care i cnd
pltete, http://cursde guvernare.ro/datoria-externa-a-romaniei-cine-si-cat-datoreaza-
care-si-cand-plateste.html, accessed in 23.01.2013;
Stanciu, Mariana, Integrarea Romniei n piaa unic europeana (Integration of Romania
in the European Single Market) in Revista Inovaia Social (Social Innovation
Journal), no. 3/2011 (January - June);

16
http://www.danemarca.dk/index.php?c=2894, accessed in 24.01.2013

209
Idem, Politici sociale i globalizare n rile europene (Social policies and globalisation
in the European countries) in Revista Calitatea Vieii (Life Quality Journal) vol.
XVIII, no.1-2, 2007;
www.eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31996L0071:EN:HTM,
accessed in 23.01.2013;
www.posting.dk/new/en/rules/act_concerning%20posting_of_workers.pdf, accessed in
23.01.2013;
www.ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?acro=lmi&lang=ro&parentId., accesat in 23.01.2013;
www.danemarca.dk/index.php?c=2894, accesat in 23.01.2013;
www.mmuncii.ro/pub/imagemanager/images/file/.../Danemarca.pdf, accessed in
23.01.2013.

III FREE MOVEMENT OF LABOR FORCE
IN THE BORDER REGIONS

THE NEW EUROPEAN BETWEEN
MOSCOW AND BRUSSELS

Horia CI OCAN
*

Abstract: This essay deals with the moment of crisis an Eastern-European generally, or a
Romanian particularly, is dealing when confronted with the right way of approaching the
West European values. This new European that has escaped the influence of the Soviet
Union, that has collapsed due to its heavy bureaucratic way, has entered another Union,
the European Union this time. What might be the biggest resemblance between the two
political unions? The first thing that comes to mind is the levelling bureaucracy, which
Max Webber has called the iron cage. If this is the point the two systems share, how will
the European Union bureaucratic system avoid the problems generated by a large
bureaucratic machinery, having in mind the Soviet Union example? How will the
European values be affected by this new system? How will the European supra structure
affect its citizens? Are they all the same or some of them are just second-hand citizens?

Keywords: Europe, crisis, East-West, European Union, values, European identity

The idea of frontier worker has to be interpreted in a broader context, beyond the
specificity of some domains as law, economics or politics, the one of the actual economic
and political crisis. The volume this article is a part of belongs to a Jean Monnet module
called The border a space of innovation and of cooperation in the EU. It is quite obvious
that innovation and cooperation are European values that have shaped Europe as we see it
today. But is there only one Europe we are talking about, or there are multiple Europes?
This question may seem futile to some people but the fact is that The European Union
isnt yet a homogenous communion. The reasons for this are multiple and can be traced in
the old and also in the recent European history. History is now important more than ever
because is a testimony of the ways that generated more than one type of European. We are

*
Lecturer, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: ciocanhoria@gmail.com

Horia CIOCAN

214
still talking now of two different structural types of European: the Western type and the
Eastern type. My article is dealing with a moment of crisis, a European crisis, that might
be summarized by the words of Antonio Gramsci: when the old is dying and the new
hasnt arrived, is a time when monsters appear. The old is what Europe was, or imagined
it was, while the new is what it wants to become, or what it imagines it would become.
This moment is a transition of Europe through a world economic crisis, or if you want, a
crisis within a crisis. The European crisis isnt an economic one, but an identity one. The
way Europe will solve its identity crisis will have a great impact on its answer addressing
the economic one.
The identity crisis might be approached from what still is the great cleavage
between Eastern Europe and Western Europe and maybe will find there the answer we are
looking for. Because even if now there is a common frame that unites the two sides of
Europe, there still is a great political, social, economical and historical lag between them.
A brief look into history well guide us through the factors that have determined the
specific mentality of the western and the eastern side of Europe. I believe its important to
know and to distinguish between the two collective mentalities in order to solve the
identity crisis and to address the present situation.
After Guy Hermet
1
there are four factors that have shaped the Europe we see
today: the dissolution of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, the schism inside
Christianity, the Turkish expansion in the Balkans starting with the 15
th
century and
finally the socioeconomic division between the peasants due to the harsh conditions
imposed on them in Eastern Europe between the 15
th
- 18
th
centuries. After the fall of the
Roman Empire the western side of Europe took the Latin language and its alphabet while
Eastern Europe took the Greek language and the Greek alphabet. Of course there were
economic changes involved along with the separation, but its main characteristic was a
political one. The following schism is a religious one. This one will deepen more the
differences between the two sides of Europe. Inside the same religion, Christianity, there
were two different forms of belief that have transferred over centuries their implications in
another form, a political one this time. If you want an analogical view, inside the EU,
there are two Europes, mutatis mutandis, one named Western Europe, or Occidens - the
name of the Latin world, that will define after the 17
th
century the catholic space, and the
other side of Europe will belong to the influence of the Byzantine Empire. Another
interesting phenomenon that left its mark on the mental shape of Western Europe is the
invasion of the barbarians, the Germanic tribes. The Byzantine Empire allowed the Slavic
tribes to get inside its space, but it subordinated them and not giving them enough space to
develop. Western Europe owns its specific development to the Germanic tribes, which
have given their vigour and stamina to the old European structures. On the other side The
Byzantine Empire collapsed without paying attention to the cultural and fresh elements
that it might taken from its invaders.
The Byzantine conception towards power will prevail in eastern territories: there
is only one ruler the emperor. He subordinates Jus sacrum (law of the church) to Jus
publicum (public law)
2
, or another way to put it, the state will use the church in its own
interests. We can see now where this way of organising things has started and why the
position of the church in communist countries was that we already know by now. In fact
the whole administrative, military and financial structure was in the hands of the emperor.

1
Guy Hermet, Istoria naiunilor i naionalismului n Europa, Institutul European Publishing, Iai, 2011, p. 30.
2
Emperor Justinian in 532.
The New European between Moscow and Brussels

215
The immediate consequence was the subservience of the public domain to the emperor in
such a way that private property is out of the question. The Byzantine Emperor and the
order it has imposed were adamant towards any form of external influence. This symbiosis
between politics and religion was inherited by the Russians from the Byzantine Empire,
and they have perfected it and taken it to a higher form of autocracy that will reject any
form of democracy or independence. This opacity in front of any external influence is
specific in different forms to Eastern Europe.
In the Western Europe things worked completely different. The separation
between what was sacred and what was worldly was deep. This separation between sacred
and worldly was deep and this results in a high leveled separation between state and
church. Guy Hermet observes that Western Europe becomes a sort of failed China (sic!),
that might have been united, but it rather prefered to separate itself into different spaces of
suzeranity. The simple fact of this territorial division is essential for the contrast between
east and west. The fragmentation of Western Europe has left a lot of space for imagination
and liberty that werent to be found in the eastern side of Europe
3
.
I dont want to insist on a historical analysis, but these were the facts on which
two different spaces have developed. In the west the medieval and the commercial
relations made possible the emergence of the capitalist Europe, while in the east the iron
hand of the oriental type rulers have blocked a free development in social and economic
life. Even more, during the 15
th
to 18
th
century serfdom vanishes from the most part of
Western Europe, while in the Eastern Europe it is developing into a more extreme phase.
This was a sign that in the eastern side of Europe a new world was emerging through
force, e.g. the Russian peasants werent allowed to move from a land to another. These
historical changes will bear their mark on the development of the populations on both
sides of Europe: on the western side a political development based on almost free relations
to it, and in the eastern side a more and more strong obedience to authority.
In recent history there are other facts that have deepened the distance between the
two sides of Europe. Tony Judt
4
talks about four such factors: the influence of the second
word war, that determined an unprecedented mobilization of all the states during the war
and afterwards for the reconstruction of Europe; the cold war that determined the Western
European states to engage into a complex system of alliances between them and
afterwards with USA. The Marshall plan has helped these alliances because Western
European countries received 13 billion $ in the years 1948 - 1952, and after 1952 the
amount of money given to them reached a staggering 28 million $ (the same plan for
Eastern Europe was refused by Stalin on Andrei Jdanovs advice - Jdanov was the
ideologist of the radical break with the west). A third factor was the need for workforce to
help rebuild Western Europe after war. A lot of these workers came from the eastern side
of Europe. The fourth factor is the coal from Ruhr that ensured the energetic independence
of Western Europe with a low financial effort. Id mention a fifth factor: from the six
countries that were founding members of EU, five were among the richest states in
Europe. My brief insight into European history was meant to show that a solid, real and
functional community is difficult to obtain due to the motives and the historic fluctuations
that have shaped in time two different types of Europeans.
After the fall of the Berlin wall and the liberation of the Eastern countries from the
influence of the Soviet Union, Franois Mitterand - president of France at that time - said

3
Guy Hermet, op. cit, p. 42.
4
Tony Judt, Europa iluziilor, Polirom Press, Iai, 2000
Horia CIOCAN

216
that the EU should limit itself at the borders it had if it wants to survive and maintain its
economical standards. It seemed a good point because at that time EU, made up of the
western countries, was going through a process of homogenisation. Franois Mitterands
idea was to consolidate what EU meant at that time and than go through a process of
expanding. His foreign minister Roland Dumas had another idea that was to help the
eastern countries that were emerging: he said that it would be much safer that those
countries should maintain their former economic relations, inside the CAER, until they
reach the level of the western countries. As we all know that safe advice was not followed.
Those pieces of advice, to mention only two of them, came from the EU, or the western
countries. The stronger part, politically, economically and culturally, was always the
Occidens. The idea of a new Europe and the ways to achieve it, and maybe to recover the
lost dream, to use G. Hermets idea, a united western China, came from the west. A
western idea, or maybe just a feeling, was also the Eurocentrism. This feeling of strength
ignored F. Mitterands advice and of the Euroskeptiks, and extended the borders of EU in
the East at all risks.
The risks of the western European countries were: one jeopardizing its
consolidated economic relations by engaging with an economy that use to work by
different principles, the communist ones. There was another risk, this time, belonging to
the eastern countries, the cultural and communicational one. The latter was due to a long
period of separation between the two sides, and not a peaceful separation, because as we
remember the two sides of Europe were engaged in what is called the Cold War. The Cold
War cast a shadow of doubt over the partners that were to rejoin again. Briefly there was a
chasm between the two. Thanks to this brave movement we can speak now about an
enlarged EU. But this expansion has left unsolved some of the differences between
countries, mostly economic and especially cultural ones. If we can make a radical analogy
the Western Europe as it has done before, in the middle ages, has accepted the eastern
barbarians, the East European countries, that have freed themselves from the Russian
Empire, or the USSR.
The question is: will these new members of EU play the same role the Germanic
tribes have played in the past, considering the differences between them? Or another way
to put it: will the western values have the same influence on the newcomers? The strenght
of the easterners is that they might be considered the infusion of fresh blood Europe is so
much in need of. One the other side are the values of Western Europe vital? If we are to
follow one of the best diagnosticians the western world has had, F. Nietzsche, Europe is
old and tired. He says that Europe has lost the values that once made it what it was: the
violence, the heroism and the inventivity. (...) the democratization of Europe leads to a
production of a type that is prepared for slavery in the subtlest sense, (...). I mean to say:
the democratization of Europe is at the same time an involuntary arrangement for
cultivation of tyrants - taking the word in every sense, including the most spiritual
5
.
Inside the political supra-structure that EU is today it has merged, and Ill use a metaphor
following the nietzschean logic, the exhausted masters/tyrants with the new
barbarians/slaves. How does the future look for them? Do the rulers have an idea on how
and where they should turn the ship on this modern storm/crisis? It looks like the political
frame called EU is only a bureaucratic overlap on the European states that has lost its
vision over the entire structure and uses instrumental values without taking into account
its real coherence - the EU lacks in the most profound sense the idea of community. It is

5
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond good and evil, Vintage books, New York, 1989, 242, p. 175-176

217
of the utmost importance to realize the principles that have shaped EU, moreover, the
most profound idea of European Unity. Because if the EU appeared only from economical
reasons (namely the coal from Ruhr and the need to rebuild Europe after the WWII), this
might be the reason why it acts as an utilitaristic structure, where a minority is sacrificed
for the welfare of the majority, inside a purely interventionist supra-state.
The interventionist state stays for a policy that a new ruling class is imposing; the
new tyrants that, to use Marxist terms, are making use of a new ideology. This ideology is
called the neo-liberalism that was considered in the beginning of the90s to be the safest
way for Europe. Now this neo-liberalism is in crisis. Its crisis begun when the ruling class
betrayed it. Because when you look at the European (and not only) economic and millitary
policy the states gain more and more powers, it is stronger and stronger. As long as the
state intervenes to regulate the economy we are far from what Ludwig von Mises has
defined as a liberal economy. We have as an example the disastrous collapse of USSR,
due mainly to economic reasons (the interventionist state) and secondly to the dull
bureaucratic state which imposed this policy. If EU ignores this example its future is
doomed.
It is clear that neo-liberalism is no longer neo, nor liberalism - it has become a
mask for the ideology of an interventionist state. Slavoj Zizek says that there were two
signs which announced the failure of the actual ideology. The first is September 11th 2001
which has the significance (in Marxist terms) of a stopping of history, in the sense that
capitalism in liberal spirit could not impose itself as a stabile and universal form. The
second sign is the menace towards the liberal economic utopia from the new actors from
different cultures. After 9.11 it is clear that the American political ego-centrism has failed,
in the sense that it is not the only player in the new world order. And if we extend the
notion of Occidens to America it is also clear that Europe plays another role and I explain:
in the recent past USA took part in the main international conflicts which Europe has
endorsed, mainly morally, but never dare to engage them. In fact when we talk about
American political ego-centrism we talk about of way of extending the European way
over the ocean - America is an image of Europe, a new Europe. So as long the American
ego-centrism failed, the European one failed also.
The main reason for this is the emergence of new and strong economic actors with
particular forms of capitalism determined by their cultural and mental background: India,
China, Russia, Latin America. This is an example of dispersion of the economic power
circles that cannot be ignored.
Turning back to the logic of Nietzsche who said that Europe has emerged due to
external menace from the Orient, the new economic and political forces might be the sign
for the strengthening of the EU, both economically and, most important, politically. But
the question is how this consolidation is going to happen? The example of Chinese
capitalism is hard to ignore. Its main actor is Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of
Singapore, who realised that capitalism and the authoritarian state do not exclude each
other. What followed is history: Deng Xiaoping payed him a visit and the result is that the
Chinese republic has adopted the Singapore model. Regarding this situation Peter
Sloterdijk and S. Zizek have well pointed out, that thin new capitalism doesnt need
democracy. The main reason for the crisis of the American capitalism might be considered
the expansion and the efficiency of the Asian model. The same thing can be said about the
European democratic and liberal model which seems week in addressing the Oriental
capitalism. One question which needs a quick answer is: can Europe give its own answer
to these models (Chinese, Russian, American) or will it take one of them?
Horia CIOCAN

218
For a honest answer Europe will need to consider its heterogeneous economical
state, give up its hegemonic impulses and conceive its own original model. As different
businesses are moved because of the cheap workforce towards China, Europe might
borrow the ways of managing business and along with them other things which will
influence its way in ways that are hard to tell - not to mention the migration of the Asians
to Europe. As Nietzsche has pointed out: in Russia there is an emigration of the
intelligence. People cross the frontier in order to read and write good books. Thus,
however, they are working towards turning their country, abandoned by the intellect, into
a gaping Asiatic maw, which would fain swallow our little Europe
6
.
To receive emigrants and to get them accept your ways means to have strong rules
and convictions regarding them. As long as these arent clear to you in the first place
youll end up being absorbed by a foreign mentality. Im not saying that this is necessary a
danger, because this might be the salvation of a drifting Europe. There are to types that
Europe has to get accustomed with: its own eastern citizens and then with the oriental
foreigners. Such measures can be noticed in UK during Tony Blairs government when he
has limited education only to English language. I consider this measure as a way to help
integrate all oriental immigrants who are inside UK, and at the same time the stopping of
creating parallel societies. The same thing has to happen in other European countries,
namely to limit at all costs the creation of isolate or parallel societies that speak another
language. I dont mean it as a constraint but as a way to create the means to integrate
people into a larger structure, that they feel a part of, and to educate that they dont belong
to a single country, but to Europe. This might be the first step to consolidate the new
European. Children should be taught in a European way, not in a national way. In order
for this to be effective the idea of border - all kinds of borders - inside Europe should be
abolished. Old and false idols have to be abandoned. As long as a border is maintained it
will conserve different old and caducous ideas, values and feelings, or, with a better name,
false idols that have kept Europe on its development. I name these false idols: patriotism
and nationalism as promoters of deceit and lie that support a certain interest and a certain
ideology. There are implicit ways to maintain a certain ideology masked by different ways
of protecting people and Ill mention just two: the well known Schengen agreement
which has as its main consequence the indirect creation of first class Europeans, inside
Schengen territory, and second hand citizens outside it; another sign of mascked ideology
is the The Green Belt project, which maybe by accident or another unknown cause is
following the line that used to separate the communist from the capitalist states during the
cold war. I see these as examples of hegemonic tendencies. As long as Europe will bear
the main traits of one of its states or of a group of such states will not do only to preserve
the old ways of its defunct empires. Lets not forget that the incapacity of the late empires
to give a functional answer to the new economic and political situation lead them to their
demise.
The fact is Europe hasnt an answer for the crisis it is in. This is not tragic yet;
tragedy lies in the fact that Europe doesnt look deep inside into its past and into the
wounds left by it. Briefly: you want a solution for a complex situation but youre not
really considering it seriously. Turning to the title of this article, Brussels means the West,
the value, Europe, while Moscow means the recent past, the lesson to be learned and the
Orient. I made the historical introduction to use it for the analogy between the role played
by the invasion of the Germanic tribes and the new invasion of the people from the

6
F.Nietzsche, Cltorul i umbra sa, Ed. Antet, 2000, 231, p. 116

219
Eastern ex-communist countries - and of course the Turkish people who had played an
important role in yesterdays and play an important one in todays Germany, even if some
Germans are easily willing to forget this.
This economic crisis might be of the greatest importance for Europe as long as it
is considered as a catalist for a real change inside the European mentallity. But if it will be
used by those who rule Europe to consolidate their positions into a reinforced and
radicalised capitalism, maybe in an Oriental way, it will be the road to ruin. The way the
situation in Greece is presented whether the Greeks are blamed or pitied, only says that
those who use the terms to characterise the Greek situation really know whats going on
and they might use it to impose their authoritarian system and policies. Lets hope Europe
is first of all a union of elevated and cultivated spirits and not a business of the great
finance and of the herd-man who can only judge things in a mercantile way.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hermet, Guy, Istoria naiunilor i naionalismului n Europa, Institutul European
Publishing, Iai, 2011;
Judt, Tony, Europa iluziilor, Polirom Press, Iai, 2000;
Nietzsche, Friedrich, Beyond good and evil, Vintage books, New York, 1989;
Idem, Cltorul i umbra sa, Ed. Antet, 2000;
Nurdin, Jean, Lide dEurope dans la pense allemende lpoque bismarckienne, Peter
Lang, Berne, 1980;
Because this is an essay Ive used other works of and on Nietzsche and Marx, along with
some conferences by Slavoj Zizek, Alain Badiou and Peter Sloterdijk.

CROSS-BORDER PROTECTED AREAS PRESENT AND
PERSPECTIVES. ROMANIAN EXEMPLES

Stelian NI STOR
*

Ribana LI NC
**

Abstract: Despite the fact that borders usually cut geographical and political territorial
entities, the existence of cross border protected areas could become a very usefull tool to
reduce the fragmentation area situated in the vicinity of a state border. Different
European Programmes offers a very usefull tools in order to establish a new kind of co-
operation, where the political differences could be easely reduced.

Keywords: cross-border protected areas, co-operation, green belts

Introduction
When hearing the term cross border, one usually pictures an administrative
boundary of some kind one that is easily depicted on a map. Provincial boundaries,
regulated protected area boundaries and international boundaries are ones that quickly
come to mind. When crossing these borders, one understands that different rules may
apply, ranging from permit fees to speed limits on different road types. Another cross
border situation that cannot be as easily identified especially on a map is that of a
cultural border. When crossing cultural borders, different rules or protocols also exist.
Learning, respecting and practicing these protocols is integral to furthering a relationship
or entering into a partnership.
Regarding the different stages of cross-border co-operation one could notice the
following stagestotal absence of relations; the phase of information change; consultation;
co-operation; harmonization; integration
1
.
Even if geography or political sciences developed the idea of natural border, the
cross-border co-operation in the field of protected areas discovers the spatial continuity of
cross-border areas and thus, the necessity of a common management in order to face the

*
Lecturer, PhD., Department of Geography, Tourism and Territorial Planning, Faculty of Geography, Tourism
and Sport, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: snistor@uoradea.ro
**
Associate professor, PhD., Department of Geography, Tourism and Territorial Planning, Faculty of
Geography, Tourism and Sport, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: ribanalinc@yahoo.com
1
Charles Ricq (coord.), Manual de cooperare transfrontalier pentru uzul colectivitilor locale i regionale n
Europa, 3
rd
Edition, Centrul de Informare si Documentare al Consiliului Europei la Bucuresti, 2000;

222
challenges of modern day evolution
2
.

History of cross border co-operation for protected areas
IUCN formulated the following definition for cross-border parks and protected
areas: Protected area crossed by the border between two or more countries (or
sub-national units, such as the provinces and the regions, the autonomous territories and
others), the component parts of which are dedicated to the protection and conservation of
the biodiversity and of the natural and cultural resources, co-operationg through legal
means.
In the 1980s, the idea of developing national ecological networks surfaced more or
less simultaneously in several European countries. The ecological network concept
emerged in Western Europe, and a similar idea, the polarised landscape concept was
developed in Eastern Europe. The concept is based on the assumption that it is vital to
(re)establish interconnectivity between natural and semi-natural values to counteract
physical fragmentation, which is a result of a strong intensification of land use in various
parts of Europe over the last decades. This fragmentation jeopardises the viability of
ecosystems and species populations and thus is threatening nature and biodiversity in
Europe.
The ecological network concept not just prioritises the conservation of core areas as
natural or semi-natural values, but also prioritises the importance of buffering,
maintaining and re-establishing ecological connectivity and nature restoration. Therefore,
an ecological network is composed of elements that fulfil these functions: core areas;
that are usually protected by buffer zones, and connected through corridors; and further
developed by nature restoration areas, where needed.

Fig. 1 Bio-geographical provinces of Fig. 2 Bio-geographical provinces of
Europe Central Europe

Source: www.eea.com, modified Source: www.eea.com, modified

2
Ibidem
Cross - Border Protected Areas Present and Perspectives. Romanian Exemples

223
Scientific basis for the establishment of ecological networks are based on
autecological, landscape-ecological, macro-ecological and bio-geographic achievements.
Theoretically ideal ecological network should connect those protected areas that will
enable the sustainable survival of optimal habitats and their complex mosaics, to sustain at
least one population of each species in the region. In the practice of nature protection the
intention is to define the minimal size of the protected areas network based on the
attributes of complementarity, flexibility, and irreplacebility
3
. It is certain that there is no
universal model for choice of the protected area so that all taxa present in a region are
protected, however it is possible to form the basis of criteria that lead to successful
creation of protected areas network
4
.
According to Cabeza and Moilanen
5
ecological network should include only sites
that cover more than the minimum size required for the presence and survival of species,
where population density as an indicator of sites quality, although commonly used
parameter, is not the crucial one (e.g. species endemism certainly is not to be omitted).
Besides, it is necessary to perform the dynamic analysis of the population vitality, in order
to prevent their endangerment by appropriate protection measures. If the process of
networking takes place on the protected areas macro-ecological level, then it would be
desirable to form a network of protected natural areas on the principle of multiple
representations of each biotic characteristic in a large number of networked sites. In
scientific sense, particularly intriguing is the question of determining the optimal size of
protected areas network. An open research issue is the process of networked areas
definition if it includes the effects of unprotected neighbor habitats (or landscape matrix)
on biotic processes within the protected area
6
.

Cross-border protected area along Romanian-Hungarian border
The border connects a corner located in the Historic region of Banat, 15 km
South-East from the Hungarian town Szeged, to a corner located on the Tur River, 16 km
far away the Romanian City Satu-Mare. Geographically, the border area belongs to the
Western Carpathian Mountains and Carpathian Basin; the Hungarian side is part of the
Great Hungarian Plain, while the Romanian side includes all forms of relief: the
Romanian Western Plain and Hills and a small part of the Western Carpathians
Mountains. The total length of the Romanian- Hungarian border is 448 Km, out of which
415.8 km is terrestrial, and 32.2 km is fluvial border (on the Mure, Cri, Some Rivers).
The Hungary-Romanian border area consists of four neighbouring counties in Hungary
(Szabolcs- Szatmr-Bereg, Hajd-Bihar, Bks and Csongrd) and also four counties in

3
Michael Meadows,Biogeography: does theory meet practice? inProgress in Physical Geography, 27(1),
2001, p. 122-129
4
Sneana Durdi, Sanja Stojkovi, Sinia Trkulja, Deja abi,Nature protection as a form of cross border
cooperation between Serbia andneighboring countries state and development perspectivesin Geogaphica
Timisiensis, vol. 19, nr.1, 2010, p. 351-361
5
Mar Cabeza, Atte Moilanen,Design of reserve networks and persistence of biodiversity inTrends in
Ecology & Evolution, 16(5), 2001, p. 242-248
6
MarCabeza,Habitat loss and connectivity of reserve networks in probability approaches to reserve design
inEcology Letters, 6, 2003, p. 665-672

224
Romania: Satu Mare, Bihor, Arad and Timi
7
.

Fig. 3 Protected areas along Romanian-Hungarian border

Source:www.eea.com, modified

One of the most relevant cross border cooperation projects is the
Romanian-Hungarian corridor for thebiodiversity conservation
8
(financed through
PHARE CBC Program, funds 2,600,000 Euro). This corridor for biodiversity conservation
was created between the Apuseni Natural Park in Romania and Koros-Maros National
Park in Hungary
9
, having as objectives biodiversity conservation and development of
ecotourism and educational cross border projects.
At the initiative of EUROPARC Federation (which unite the national and natural
parks from Europe) each year, on 24 of may, it is celebrated the European Day of the
Parks. The representatives from Apuseni Natural Park were invited to visit the strictly
protected area from Koros-Maros National Park.
The representatives from Cefa Natural park (a protected area administrated by
Apuseni Natural park) are partners of Koros Maros national park from Hungary, the
protected wetlands from Cefa (Romanian side) continuing across the border with Biharuga
wetland and fishing ponds.
The co-operation between the two sides is materialized with a common project
titled Improving the cross-border status of Koros Maros national park and Cefa natural
park, program which runs under the auspices of CBC Cross-Border Program between
Romania and Hungary being coordinated by Koros Maros National Park the partners

7
Dorina Camelia Ilie, Lucian Blaga, Ioana Josan, tefan Baias, Cezar Morar, Grigore Herman, Cross border
natural parks, support for regional development. case study of the northern and western romanian border in
Revista Romna de Geografie Politica,year XII, no. 1, May 2010, p. 126-139
8
www.parcapuseni.ro
9
Dorina Camelia Ilie, Alexandru Ilie, Lucian Blaga, Corina Ttar, Ioana Josan, Preliminary Study
Regarding the Models of valorisation and Promoting of geosites, Geoparks and Cultural Heritage at the EU
external border. Case study-border Romania-Ukraine, Romania-Hungary in Geographica Timisensis, vol.
XVII, nr.1-2, 2008, Editura Universitatii Timisoara, Timioara, p. 167-174


225
being Cefa Natural Park, administrated by Romsilva National Forest Agency and the
Administration of Apuseni Natural Park.

Cross-border protected area along Romanian-Serbian border
Due to the geographical position of Serbia with the territory which is situated on
the contact of the southern part of the Pannonian plain and the Balkan Peninsula and also
due to the complex influences of biotic and abiotic factors, the diverse and rich natural
heritage was formed. The Balkan Peninsula is one of six centers of biological diversity in
Europe, it is certain that the interest of preserving the natural heritage of this part of
Europe overcomes national borders
10
.
The Djerdap Natural Park, Serbia, is located in the South Eastern Serbia, on the
Romanian border (fig. 5). The total area of the Djerdap National Park is 93,968 ha and of
the protected areas 63,608 ha. The Djerdap National Park together with the Portile de Fier
Natural Park forms one ecosystem and it was registered on the UNESCO list in 2002.

Cross-border protected area along Romanian-Bulgarian border
Bucharest, May 12 2012 - a team of WWF, together with representatives from
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Romania, Agency of Environmental Protection and
administrator of some protected areas from Romania, met in Bucharest in order to start
the preparations for designating these sites as Ramsar sites. To achieve this goal the
romanian part must declare the protected areas from the Romanian side as Ramsar sites,
the Bulgarian sites having this status
11
.

Fig. 5 Protected areas along Romanian-Bulgarian border

Source:www.eea.com, modified

10
Sneana Durdi, Sanja Stojkovi, Sinia Trkulja, Deja abi,op.cit., p. 351-361
11
See http://www.green-borders.eu/ro/noutati/Atelier-de-lucru-pentru-desemnarea-noilor-situri-Ramsar-nation
ale-si-transfrontaliere.html.


226
The co-operation along the border in the field of protected areas is very dynamic
in the last few year both due to bilateral agreement and due to international co-operation
programes The aim is to create such cross-border protected sites as following:
Iezer-Clrai (RO) - Srebarna (BG); Suhaia (RO) - Belene (BG); Bistret (RO) - Ibisha
Island (BG).

European associations for cross border co-operation for protected areas
Protected areas such as national parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves are
often isolated islands for protecting the worlds biodiversity. They are separated by
weakly protected and unprotected landscapes, traffic corridors as well as settlements. It is
often the case that animal and plant species dispose of less space for migration, dispersion
and reproduction than necessary
12
.
Ecological networks and corridors represent one of the most widely applied
concepts in contemporary approaches to nature conservation. The basic idea is to link
ecosystems of one type into a spatially coherent system through flows of organisms, and
to consider also the interactions with the matrix in which they are embedded.
Corridors are understood as any space identifiable by species using it; and any
space that facilitates the movement of animals or plants over time between two or more
patches of otherwise disjunct habitats.
The aim is to embed valuable areas into the ecological network through the
enlargement of protected areas and the protection of stepping stones and therefore to
improve the connectivity. Because most of the relevant areas concerns less productive
areas it should be easier to extend these areas and incorporate them into the ecological
network as a crucial part for increasing the connectivity.
The gap analysis is usually applied to fairly large areas, because this allows
decisions about conservation to be made with the best available information and on the
basis of ecological rather than political boundaries
13
.

EUROPARC is the organisation that monitors and supports the activity of the
European nature and national parks, as well as the activity of biosphere reserves in
Europe. The organisation was established in 1973, under the name of The Federation of
Nature and National Parks of Europe. Since its establishment, it permanently developed,
so that, at present, it represents the largest non-governmental organisation in the field of
protected areas. EUROPARC elaborates strategies for the protection of the natural
landscapes, of the biodiversity and of the European cultural patrimony.
More that 100 cross-border protected areas exist in Europe, and their number is
permanently growing. Only ten of these areas are composed of national parks.
The EUROPARC Federation developed a system for the official recognition of the
exemplar cross-border cooperation among the European protected areas. The system was
launched in Durban (South Africa), in 2003, at the World Park Congress.
The development of the European protected areas system led to collaborations
among the administrations of the national parks from various countries. This situation was
imposed by the extension of the natural units that are intended for protection even beyond

12
MarcoNeubert, SylviBianchin,Detecting Gaps Gis-Based Inventory Of Ecological Networks In Selected
Central European Border Regions, <<The Green Belt as a European Ecological Network strengths and
gaps>> in Proceedings of the 1st GreenNet Conference, Erfurt, 2012, p. 71-79
13
Ibidem

227
the borders of a certain country. The frequency of this kind of situations is favoured by the
fact that many border sectors are natural (rivers, lakes, mountains etc.). Thus, a new
category of national parks appeared inter-state or cross-border national parks, which
require much more involvement and efforts from the part of the respective countries, with
the purpose of a better administration of the common natural patrimony. The following
table presents these parks, as well as the natural unit to which they belong
14
.

DANUBEPARKS - transnational project in the ETC-programme for South-
East Europe
In June 2009, the Danube River Network of Protected Areas has been established
by signing the Declaration of Vienna. As a first step, the partnership expands the
cooperation, coordination, consultation and strengthens links between the national
administrations of protected areas of Danube riparian countries.
These are aiming to enhance nature conservation and wise management of natural
and cultural heritage in and beyond the boundaries of Protected Areas at the Danube
River.
Based on the principles of the Ramsar Convention and the Convention and
Co-operation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube River (Sofia, 1994),
the Declaration of Tulcea solidifies the aims of the Network.
The Declaration of Tulcea signed in April 2007 is an appeal for the establishment
of the Danube River Network of Protected Areas. Permanent cooperation and regular
meetings or workshops should enhance the trans-boundary cooperation in the near future.
The development and realization of joint programs and international projects is the
priority aim for the near future.
Based on existing partnership among Protected Areas along the Danube River and
in accordance with the appeal launched by the Declaration of Tulcea in April 2007 the
transnational project DANUBEPARKS has been developed. The partnership applied for
co-financing in the South East Europe (SEE) Programme. This EU Programme is a unique
instrument which, in the framework of the Regional Policy's Territorial Cooperation
Objective, aims to improve integration and competitiveness in an area which is as
complex as it is diverse. The programme is supporting projects developed within four
Priority Axes including Protection and Improvement of the Environment (Priority axis
2) with focus on Promote cooperation in management of natural assets and protected
areas.
This enabled Danube Protected Areas to establish the Danube River Network of
Protected Areas as a platform to address transnational challenges, implementation of
joint conservation strategies, coherent management practice, and a common corporate
identity. For the first step, the partnership included 12 Protected Areas from 8 Danube
countries. Additional partners have shown interest and were invited to cooperate, which is
why by the end of 2011, the network comprised 15 partners - further expansion of the
network is planned within follow-up projects. All Project Partners work on site and are
leading actors in the management of natural heritage with full political support by relevant
ministries which is underlined by the numerous ministries joining "DANUBEPARKS" as
observer partners.

14
Laura Stumbea, "Cross-border national parks in Europe - present and perspective" in Annals of University of
Craiova, Series Geography, Vol. 10 (new series), 2007, p. 62-74

228
Fig. 4 Cross-border protected areas along DANUBEPARK project

Source:http://www.danubeparks.org

Project management, Steering Committee, and the establishment of standing
technical task forces ensure active cooperation, communication, and know-how transfer
among project partners. This is the base for the planning and implementation of pilot
projects of transnational relevance focussing on following modules:
improvement of river morphology;
floodplain management & habitat network;
conservation of flagship species;
implementation of NATURA 2000 & transnational monitoring;
Danube nature tourism.
The established framework of the "Danube River Network of Protected Areas"
and the generation of transnational follow-up projects ensures continous transnational
cooperation in the long term.

Green Borders Cross-border conservation and management of Natura 2000
sites along the Danube River
A major interest concerns the restoration of wetlands to establish a 'Lower Danube
Green Corridor' through joint action by Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine under a
pact negotiated in 2000
15
.
The Green Borders project creates the framework for cross-border conservation
for 11 Natura 2000 sites along the Lower Danube in Romania and Bulgaria, ensuring the
coherence of the LDGC by maintaining high biodiversity in the area while providing
valuable ecosystem services to the local communities.
Joint efforts of the two countries will result in improved breeding and feeding
sites for the two bird species but overall, to improved ecological status of the Danube
floodplain in these key areas.

15
DavidTurnock,"Cross border co-operation: a major element in regional policy in East Central Europe" in
Scottish Geographical Journal, Vol. 118, Issue 1, 2002


229
In close collaboration with Local Environmental Agencies, Bird Life and Natura
2000 sites administrators we engage with major fish farms along the Danube to promote a
change in the way fisheries are managed to ensure living condition for the two priority
birds.
By showing that fisheries extensive management can be done more responsibly at
little or no extra costs and by wetland restoration along the Danube river, large scale
reductions of the feeding and nesting habitats can be obtained. To achieve this living
conditions for the two species, the projects:
Engages multiple stakeholders in roundtables and dialogues to develop sustainable
ecological reconstruction of the nesting and feeding areas, including fisheries;
Proactively seeks one-to-one engagements with fish farms, administrators and land
owners to apply best management practices for wetlands, reed and floodplain forest
in Natura 2000 sites;
Promotes cross-border cooperation for the protection and management of the
habitats important for the two species. implementing the best practices for fisheries
management;
Creates an online cross-border decision tool to support conservation actions and
wetland monitoring along the Lower Danube.

Fig. 6 The cross-border protected areas of Green Border Project

Source: www.wwf.com

The Green Belt
The common vision is to build the backbone of an ecological network along the
former Iron Curtain that extends from the Barents Sea to the Black and Adriatic Seas
16
.

16
Andrea Strauss, Katharina Diehl, The European Green Belt Initiative A Retrospective on Crossing
Boundaries in Maja Vasilijevi and Tomasz Pezold (eds.), Crossing Borders for Nature European examples
of transboundary conservation, 2011, p. 8-12


230
Fig. 7 The Green belt of Europe

Source: www.greennet.com

The main goal of the initiative is the establishment of the European Green Belt as
a functional ecological network. Its implementation supports the commitments made by
EU Heads of States and Pan-European Environment Ministers to halt the loss of
biodiversity. It also contributes to implementing the CBD Programme of Work on
Protected Areas, the Pan-European Ecological Network (PEEN, Council of Europe) and
other international conventions, initiatives and networks such as Natura 2000.
Successful cross-border cooperation in nature conservation along the European
Green Belt will support the EU strategy laid down in the EU Directive on the
Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC) (Habitats
Directive) as Special Protection Areas (SPA), and the EU Directive on the Conservation
of Wild Birds (79/409/ EEC) (Bird Directive) as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC).
A second important function of the European Green Belt initiative lies in its
relevance on several levels of society, ranging from international to local. The historic and
political context triggers an understanding for the context of nature conservation issues
that is recognized as unusually high by the involved actors
17
.

Conclusions
Despite the fact that in some cases the borders could turn to be more or less
impermeable spaces, in relation with political events, they could also turn into perfect
opportunities to reduce the influence of political factor. The cross-border co-operation
could become a good starting point in opening other communication and co-operation
fields (e.g. transport system, tourism, education, scientific research). The cross-border co-
operation in the field of protected areas could easily become an instrument immune to
political events.
A border line never limit a natural protected area, because the functioning
principles of a functional natural territorial system do not overlap with the political-
administrative structures. Establishment of natural parks ensures community involvement,

17
Ibidem

231
safeguards local rural cultural heritage and the natural environment by active protection,
understanding nature and its values, promoting and encouraging the tourist activities.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cabeza, Mar; Moilanen, Atte, Design of reserve networks and persistence of
biodiversity inTrends in Ecology & Evolution, 16(5), 2001;
Cabeza, Mar, Habitat loss and connectivity of reserve networks in probability approaches
to reserve design inEcology Letters, 6, 2003;
Durdi, Sneana;Stojkovi, Sanja;Trkulja, Sinia;abi, Deja,Nature protection as a form
of cross border cooperation between Serbia andneighboring countries state and
development perspectives in Geogaphica Timisiensis, vol. 19, nr. 1, 2010;
Ilie, Dorina Camelia; Ilie, Alexandru; Blaga, Lucian; Ttar, Corina; Josan, Ioana,
Preliminary Study Regarding the Models of valorisation and Promoting of geosites,
Geoparks and Cultural Heritage at the EU external border. Case study-border
Romania-Ukraine, Romania-Hungary in Geographica Timisensis, vol. XVII, nr. 1-2,
2008, Editura Universitii Timioara, 2008
Ilie, Dorina Camelia;Blaga, Lucian;Josan, Ioana;Baias, tefan;Morar, Cezar;Herman,
Grigore, Cross border natural parks, support for regional development. Case study
of the northern and western romanian border in Revista Romn de Geografie
Politic, year XII, no. 1, May 2010
Meadows, Michael, Biogeography: does theory meet practice? in Progress in Physical
Geography, 27(1), 2001;
Neubert, Marco; Bianchin, Sylvi, Detecting Gaps Gis-Based Inventory Of Ecological
Networks In Selected Central European Border Regions, <<The Green Belt as a
European Ecological Network strengths and gaps>> in Proceedings of the 1st
GreenNet Conference, Erfurt, 2012;
Ricq, Charles (coord.), Manual de cooperare transfrontalier pentru uzul colectivitilor
locale i regionale n Europa, 3
rd
Edition, Centrul de Informare si Documentare al
Consiliului Europei la Bucuresti, 2000;
Strauss, Andrea; Diehl, Katharina,The European Green Belt Initiative A Retrospective
on Crossing Boundaries in Maja Vasilijevi and Tomasz Pezold (eds.), Crossing
Borders for Nature European examples of transboundary conservation, 2011;
Stumbea, Laura,Cross-border national parks in Europe - present and perspective in
Annals of University of Craiova, Series Geography, Vol. 10 (new series), 2007;
Turnock, David, Cross border co-operation: a major element in regional policy in East
Central Europe in Scottish Geographical Journal, Vol. 118, Issue 1, 2002;
www.green-borders.eu/ro/noutati/Atelier-de-lucru-pentru-desemnarea-noilor-situri-
Ramsar-nationale-si-transfrontaliere.html
www.danubeparks.org/?story=1
www.wwf.org/
www.crisana.ro/stiri/actualitate-13/excursie-instructiva-in-zona-protejata-124314.html
http://www.eeconet.org/eeconet/
www.parcapuseni.ro

ACCESS ON LABOR MARKET OF HIGHER EDUCATION
GRADUATES FROM UNIVERSITY OF ORADEA

erban OLAH
*

Drago DRBNEANU
**

Abstract: In Romania, the highest rate of unemployment is recorded among the young
population. This paper aims to show some of the most important and most common
problems faced by university graduates in the first place tremendous job finding stage.
The analysis presented is based on sociological research involving 600 graduates who
studied at the University of Oradea. They come from all majors and faculties of the
mentioned University. The analysis focuses on the time required for finding the first job,
on strategies used to find a job, or on most popular arguments with employers to provide
a job. We also tried to highlight the extent to which university graduates fail to occupy
professional positions in the field for which they trained, and witch are the most looking
for jobs, or less looking for jobs demanded on the labor market. We consider this
approachto be very important because from a psychosocial perspective labor market
integration represent one of the most important moments of life. On the other hand
development and social progress depends directly on the opportunities they have for
younger generations to build a career and position in society.

Keywords: labor market, university graduates, social integration, professional
integration

The labor market represents one of the most important things that affect the life of
people, in the modern and contemporaneous societies. From the beginning of their
preparation, at the very earlier age, our children learn that they will have to have a good
job because only in this way they can have a good life. There is a spread question put to
children from three years old: What do you want to be when you grow up. Practically
this is the first moment when we contact the first representation of the labor market. The

*
Associate professor, PhD., Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences, University of Oradea, Romania,
e-mail: serbanolah2002@yahoo.com
**
Lecturer, PhD., Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences, University of Oradea, Romania,
e-mail: darabaneanu@gmail.com

234
children dont have any clue about their own competences, they know nothing about what
labor market want at that moment, the representation about guilds and jobs is very vague
or even absent. From this moment labor market will be increasingly present in our
concerns and at a time it became almost the most important thing in our life.
Our social study is looking for this particular moment and we are trying to revel
and demonstrate that the moment of finishing the license study is the most intensive
moment in the relationship between people and labor market.
Markets are core elements of the capitalist economy. The difference between the
capitalist economy and the socialist one, according to Swedish sociologist Richard
Swedberg, has to do with the way in which the distribution is structured as an exchange
and not re-distribution or reciprocity
1
. Sociologists are sometimes very critical to what
economists have to say about markets, whereas economists are focused only on the price
formation and not on markets as institutions. As an argument for this idea, it should be
noted that George Stigler stated decades ago that economic theory is concerned with
markets, but the situation that bothers is that too little attention is given to the theory of
markets. On the other hand, Douglas North found odd that the economic literature devotes
little space to the central institution - which the neoclassical economy considered to be the
market. Last but not least, Ronald Coase wrote that although economists say that they
study the market, it is even more in shadow in modern market theory than the company.
The interest of the economists is to find out the market prices
2
.
It must be said, however, Richard Swedberg stated, that although economists have
more to say about pricing than about the institutional size of the markets, sociologists
must not ignore what economists say about market. On the other hand, it should be noted
that in the last few decades the economists have become increasingly interested in the
institutional size of the markets.
However, our study is dedicated to a particular type of market, the labor market
and, therefore, we will no longer insist on the dispute between sociologists and economists
about what the market is in general and how it should be analyzed. It is natural to have
different perspectives on the market, due to the specific interests and scientific and
practical objectives proposed by the economists and sociologists.
Labor is a means of getting goods to be used, possessed or sold. If someone wants
to consume or provide a certain good, he has four choices, either alone or in combination:
(1) to produce it himself, (2) to confiscate it, (3) to buy it and (4) to persuade somebody
else to produce it. Labor markets proliferate if option 3 (for consumers) and 4 (for
vendors) become the dominant options.
The first labor markets appeared in the 13
th
and 14
th
centuries, when small groups
of people gathered in public spaces in villages and cities to offer their services in
exchange for something. Labor markets did not necessarily gone in tandem with the
capitalism whereas the production space was quite often the countrymen and the
craftsmens houses.
However, one can say that labor markets spread in capitalism through the
production systems in which the capital holders made the decisions regarding the
allocation and the character of labor. With the industrial revolution, the labor moved to
factories, being better organized and monitored by the capitalists
3
. The labor markets

1
Swedberg, Richard, Principles of Economic Sociology, Princeton University Press, 2003, p. 104-105
2
Ibidem, p. 155
3
Chris Tilly and Charles Tilly, Capitalist Work and Labor Markets in Richard Swedberg and Neil Smelser,
The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 286
Access on Labor Market of Higher Education Graduates from University of Oradea

235
involve the following elements
4
:
1. the workers, who are formally free to enter or leave the different jobs;
2. the employers, who are free to hire or dismiss workers;
3. the jobs; divisions of labor in companies or distinct positions within them;
4. the employment; the transactions through which, within the stipulated limits, the
workers agree to cede the control over the power of their labor to the employers, in
exchange for the salary provided in advance;
5. the networks; lines of communication between the potential occupiers of the
workplaces of different companies;
6. the contracts; explicit agreements or implicit norms regarding the rules, the level of
effort, the working conditions and the type, frequency or amount of money paid.
As seen in the presentation of its elements, the labor market is a specific type of
market. All the economists, except the neoclassic ones, felt that there was something
special about the work as commodity and about the labor market, too. The fact that Marx
regarded the work as being different from other commodities is well known, as well as his
attempt to dispel the secrets of capitalism by analyzing the value created by this strange
commodity. In his work entitled The Capital, Marx considered that the capitalist era
was characterized by the fact that labour took the form of commodity that represented
personal property, even in the eyes of the workers themselves
5
.
The personality who explored the most the idea of labor seen as a commodity that
can be bought and sold like any other object is the great historian of the economic life,
Karl Polanyi. In his famous work "The Great Transformation, Polanyi analyzes the
attempt made in England during the 19
th
century to turn the work into a
commodity.However, the attempt failed because labour, he believed, is another name for a
human activity that is related to life itself, which is not produced in order to be sold, but
because of totally different reasons, it neither can be detached from the rest of the life, nor
stored or mobilized
6
.
As I have already pointed out, the marginalist economic theory, which is the core
of the economic theory, often examines the labor market using a beyond history vision.
In some analysis, the labor is related to the salaries on competitive markets, like any other
commodity. If unions are taken into account, the imperfect competition models are
applied as in any other contexts in which the seller has monopoly power. The historical
background of the social conflict that is present in the empirical labor markets is
neglected, and the economic theories make statements of great generality beyond time and
space
7
.
On the other hand, from the sociological point of view, economists are wrong
when taking into account the atomized individual actors, without taking into account the
influence of relationships with others, the decisions, the behavior of others, as well as the
history of these relationships.
Recent sociological studies on labor market talk about the influence of the social
networks, companies and discrimination on the processes happening in the labor market.
These studies are trying to bring a touch of realism to the abstract labor markets of the
economic theory. In the network analysis, the transactions of the labor market are made

4
Ibidem
5
Bruce Western, Institutions and the Labor Market in Mary Brinton, Victor Nee (eds.), The New
Institutionalism in Sociology, Stanford University Press, 1998, p. 224
6
Ibidem
7
Bruce Western, op. cit., p. 224

236
through interpersonal connections rather than the atomized and anonymous actors. The
organizational perspectives of the labor market emphasize the way in which the
companies influence the distribution of jobs and salaries. The works on gender
discrimination reveal persistent differences in earnings and earnings growth (increase)
between men and women.Research in these areas consider the labor markets as being
integrated into a rich social context consisting of social ties, organizations and disparities
in social power.
The institutional approach to the labor market expands and includes other
sociological analysis. The extension is linked to the identification of another type of non-
market processes that have influence over the job and salary allocation. The institutional
analysis is fundamental because it is primarily a contextual analysis. The institutional
analysis identifies the basic rules and standards that allow the markets to operate.
The institutional thinking applied to the labour market states the following.
Historically speaking, the labor markets arise from conflicts between the emerging classes
of employers and workers. The resulting rules that regulate the wage change provide a
lasting expression of the balance of power in these fights
8
.
In some countries, institutions that provided a broad representation of the class of
workers and employers came into being. In others, the rules for the representation on the
labour market encouraged the fragmented organization.
The impact of the institutions on the relationships between the actors of the labour
market has consequences in terms of the allocation of jobs and salaries. Where there the
principles of the representation of broad classes were only weakly integrated into the
institutions of the labor market, the collective action was expensive and the internal
competition on the labor market resulted in inequality. Where there the labor market were
integrated into large representative institutions for workers and employers, the wages and
the employment had more egalitarian distribution and the collective action grew.
The American sociologist Bruce Western of Princeton University noticed, during
studying the institutions of the labour market in the developed capitalist countries in the
2
nd
half of the 20
th
century, that corporate countries, in other words, countries with a large
trade union consolidation, such as the Nordic countries, resisted the best to the two great
economic problems of the period, the oil shock of 1973-1974 and the Islamic Revolution
in Iran in 1979. In response to the OPEC, the nominal price of crude oil increased with
69% from 1973 to 1975. As a result of the Islamic revolution, the oil prices rose again, for
this time with 53% from 1979 to 1981. Both shocks led to inflationary growth and reduced
dramatically the economic growth.
The idea of exogenous market conditions bound up with the labor market dates
back to the origin of the capitalist labor markets. In the institutional approach to the labour
market, the exogenous changes in economic conditions influence differently the changes
on the labor market in accordance with the institutional context.Institutions can convey the
market conditions or isolate the salaries and the degree of employment of these conditions.
The countries with the biggest trade union centralization (Austria, Denmark, Sweden,
Norway) got easier over the two shocks of the global economy, while maintaining both
inflation and unemployment at low levels. The most affected countries were those with
trade decentralization (Canada, Italy, France).
American sociologist Mark Granovetter from Stanford University is already a
classic of the studies about social networks. He studied the mobility between jobs in a

8
Ibidem, p. 226

237
suburb of the American metropolis Boston using a random sample of workers. The article
that enshrined this research is entitled "The Strength of Weak Ties"
9
. In this work, the
American sociologist refers to the fact that the workers who obtained a job got
information not from close friends or relatives, but the kind of people that you meet once
or twice a year, former co-workers, former high school or college fellows. Granovetter
used in this study the network analysis. He showed that the labor market is made up not
of atomized actors, but rather of intra- and extra-jobs networks. There is rather a large
heterogeneity than uniformity on the labor market. These individual differences lead to
different opportunities for mobility, this variation seeming to indicate the excessive
heterogeneity of the individuals. The jobs and careers of individuals are embedded in the
social structure.
Granovetter was amazed by the fact that those who had a great stability in the firm
did not owe the stability to their excellent competence, but to the fact that they know
almost nobody in other companies and so they were not taken seriously by the employers
used to recruit through personalized information. At the same time, those who found jobs
through personal contacts reported higher wages than those who used other methods.
As regards the non-white race, Granovetter believes that they are poorly
connected to the jobs structure and have a lesser influence in employment when they are
connected. The racial differences in the rate of youth unemployment do not appear due to
the fact that blacks got the air or leave their jobs, but because of the difficulty to enter the
workforce.Granovetter criticizes the economic models that hypothesize all in the same key
that the promotion depends on the productivity of workers, by adding to productivity the
lordship and the ethnicity, too.
Mary Brinton and Takehiko Karya use the concept of embeddedness (integration)
developed by Karl Polanyi and elaborated by Mark Granovetter for an analysis of the
labor market in Japan. The two authors believe that one can speak of three types of job
search:
The atomist model - in which the employer and the job applicant underlie their
behavior on the information supplied by the market through newspapers ads and
through other mechanisms of information distribution and attainment about
employment opportunities. This job search does not involve an intermediary such as
a person or organization;
The social integration or searching for jobs through interpersonal links involves an
intermediary and this type has been previously analyzed by reference to the article
signed by Granovetter;
The institutional integration or searching for jobs through institutional links assumes
that both buyers and sellers of workforce get in touch through the organization to
which they belong. Brinton and Karya remark the important role played by colleges
and universities in the institutional integration.
The two authors have used a variety of research methods, such as the secondary
analysis of the educational and work histories of a large sample of Japanese aged between
25 and 69 years, the analysis of the historical documents about the development of the
educational system and the labour market in Japan in the 20th century, as well as the

9
Mark Granovetter, The Strength ofWeak Ties in David Grusky, Social Stratification, Westwiew Press,
2001, p. 447


238
qualitative data analysis about the recent changes in the recruitment of the university
graduates.
Brinton and Karya come to the conclusion that the most common Japanese model
is the institutional integration and that this model appears to correlate directly with the
increase of the educational level and indirectly with the age increase. It was therefore
tested the hypothesis that the social integration is declining while the degree of
institutional integration is increasing, these facts demonstrating the trend of the Japanese
society towards meritocracy. On the other hand, they also noticed a trend towards a semi-
institutional integration in the case of students of leading universities through the networks
of "alumni" (graduates which keep in touch with the University they graduated and
looking for future employees for the company they are working for among the students of
that University).
The research on which this article presents information from, collected by
applying a questionnaire, is based on a survey whitch was completed online. We compiled
a database with contact details of graduates from the years 2005 and 2009, and these
graduates were asked to fill in an online questionaire. The structure of the database was
done at the institutional level with other data on graduates, additional data obtained by
contacting process. The contact was made in three areas: postal letters, by e-mail, and by
phone. Postal letters were sent to all alumni with mailing address appearing in the
database when contacting phase post graduates. We sent emails to the graduates that were
not included in the mailing database, but we known their email adress. Six hundred
questionaires were completed and validated online. The data were divided according to
whether respondents graduate on different faculties of the University of Oradea. Tables
and graphs were prepared using a series of acronyms designating these faculties, which
are presented in the table below.

Faculty Name and Acronym
Faculty of Architecture and Construction AC Faculty of Music M
School of Visual Arts AV Department of Environmental Protection PM
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport EFS Faculty of Siencies S
Faculty of Energy E Faculty of Economy Sciences SE
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information
Technology ETI
Faculty of Law SJ
Faculty of Engineering Management and
Technology IMT
Faculty of Political Science and Mass
Communication SPSC
Faculty of History, Geography and International
Relations IGR
Faculty of Social Sciences - Human SSU
Faculty of Letters L Faculty of Orthodox Theology "Bishop Dr. Vasile
Coman" TO
Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy MF Faculty of Textile and Leather TP

From the methodological point of view can not be calculated degree of
representativeness for each faculty and field of study. However characteristics obtained
for each domain is highly suggestive and assessments are correct. Related to the research,
the variables used are having a high degree of homogeneity. This makes the data obtained
for each faculty, to be correct and to restore valuable information. Below we present some
suggestive processing, accompanied by interpretations and conclusions.


239
Table 1. Activities after graduation (Percentages, multiple answers)

The data in this table shows that about 46% of the graduates of the University of
Oradea were able to find a job concordant with preparation and specificity of the studies
that they followed. Faculties with the best results in this regard are the Faculty of Music
(88%), Faculty of Letters (73%), Faculty of Architecture and Construction (65%), Faculty
of Medicine and Pharmacy (63%) and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology (64%). These
percentages represent the percentage of graduates who found a job properly done studies,
the multitude of those who have managed to get a job. Relating the situation all graduates
of the University of Oradea, 41% of them continued training in other programs of study,
24% already had a job before graduation and 11% failed to engage, despite efforts.

Table 2. Beginning a job search (Percentage)

We can see from Table 10 that early graduates seeking a job at the University of
Oradea, 34% began to look for a job even before graduate. 11% have started the search
even during graduation, and most of the graduates, or 42%, began to be interested in a job
after graduation license only. Also note that 13% of all graduates have started looking for
a job even after graduation, most of them choosing to perfect the master programs and
other training courses.

240
The graph below emphasizes the effective means and strategies for finding a job. Thus it
can be seen that the most practical way employment is considered to be one based on the
help of family, friends and knowledge. 21.1% of graduates considered this method to be
the most effective. Such a perspective is an important argument regarding the situation on
the labor market.The purpose of starting personal career is more intense than the
institutional goal of diversification of human capital or diversification of activities. In a
labor market which is expanding and developing, job offeris so diverse and dynamic that
support of family, friends and acquaintances is not necessary in such a great extent,
reaching to represent a low argument in getting a job employment.

Graph1. The most effective method of obtaining the first job (percent)

We want to mention this low score obtained by public placement agency labor
(1.9%) and job fairs (1.4%) that are considered by graduates as less effective means
finding a job. Also we note a weak link between the University of Oradea and employers
available for work. Only 0.3% of respondents believe that the university could be an
effective means to access employment.

Graph 2. To what extent curriculum was useful for getting
a job after graduation? (percent)

As shown in Chart 2, the graduates of the University of Oradea considers the rate
of 62.1% that use skills and knowledge acquired during the program of study have been
used extensively and very much in their first job. Since the frequency of classes is often
daunting because the problems facing the labor market and not infrequently the low living
standards that are requiring individuals to seek revenue streams even during studies, we

241
estimate that the percentage of those who recognize the value of knowledge gained is
evidence of teaching quality in higher education at the University of Oradea.
By implementing this study we did awareness activities and achievements of
graduates of Bachelor's degree programs offered by University of Oradea, the institution
management has gained a clearer picture of the extent to which the University fails to
meet the requirements of professional career, as well as to address areas that our graduates
cover the labor market. A convincing argument in favor of a higher education institution is
the work of its graduates. Competence in professional activities, the importance of
positions in different institutional systems, synthetic way that meet the needs of the social
environment in which they live, are core objectives and achievements of our institution.
The "graduates and the labor market" help to know these things better and to make known
the following generations.
Follow-up study of graduates of the University of Oradea insertion in the labor
market is meant to provide information that can be divided into two levels: information
about the demand on the labor market, which may lead to stimulating curriculum or
authorization of specialization in line with market requirements. Also we have obtained
information about the current labor market trends to reduce the maintenance of burden of
curricula for professional areas covered, which do not have a lack of qualified personnel.
Programs of study (majors) are built on the undergraduate background of scientific and
professional fields with real-life counterpart in various forms and dynamism required by
the rules of economic competition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Granovetter, Mark,The Strength ofWeak Ties inGrusky, David, Social Stratification,
Westwiew Press, 2001;
Swedberg, Richard, Principles of Economic Sociology, Princeton University Press, 2003.
Tilly, Chris; Tilly, Charles, Capitalist Work and Labor Markets in Swedberg, Richard;
Smelser, Neil, The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Princeton University Press,
1994;
Western, Bruce,Institutions and the Labor Marketin Brinton, Mary; Nee, Victor(eds.),
The New Institutionalism in Sociology, Stanford University Press, 1998.

FACTORS DETERMINING ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN
HIGHER EDUCATION. A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS IN
THE CROSS BORDER AREA HAJDU BIHAR-BIHOR

Florica CHI PEA
*

Zsolt BOTTYAN
**

Abstract: In this article we want to present an analysis of the factors affecting the
integration of young people in higher education. The research was conducted on a
representative sample of 2723 students, as part of the HERD the project entitled "Higher
Education for Social Cohesion - Cooperative Research and Development in the Cross-
Border Area", in a number of institutions of higher education in the border area bounded
by Hajd-Bihar County from Hungary and Bihor County from Romania. We start our
analysis from the general hypothesis that social participation, particularly academic
integration of students is affected by various forms of social capital. Factors related to the
students family and community such as economic recourses and education received, the
prior academic career of the student, social networks, can influence, on the one hand,
access to higher forms of education and, on the other hand, academic achievement.In the
article we analyze the situation separately in Romania and Hungary from data provided
by the sample. We focus our analysis on the economic and cultural capital of students,
pursuing their correlation with various aspects of academic integration and participation
in courses and seminars, relationship with teachers and other students, academic results,
subjective indicators of quality of student life.

Keywords: higher education, cultural capital, academic integration, social networks,
cross-border area

*
Professor, PhD., Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences, University of Oradea, Romania,
e-mail: fchipea@gmail.com
**
Assistant, PhD., Faculty of Social and Humanistic Sciences, University of Oradea, Romania,
e-mail: bottyan.zsolt@gmail.com

244
Introduction
The study of the social factors that influence educational achievement is a topic
with a great sociological literature. This is due to the fact that education played a central
role in the development of societies especially since the industrial revolution
1
. If 100 years
ago the workers needed basic training equivalent of primary school curriculum of today
plus some professional training, todays complex economy needs a different type of
education: more flexible and at a higher level. Economic globalization generated a new
kind of economy
2
, which can change very quickly, leaving the workforce with two
options: adapt to the changed local market or to emigrate and search for work in other
markets. In either case the workers need skills that are necessary to these changing
environments: a capability to develop different professional abilities and language skills.
If we take in account the scope of education the educational institutions can be
divided in to main groups: generalist educational institutions that include elementary
education and parts of secondary school and institutions that are aimed at professional
training and to the acquisition of specific abilities such as higher language skills. In this
second part of institutions we include parts of upper secondary school, technical colleges
and universities.
Our study is focused on universities as providers of higher forms of education and
professionalization. The role of universities is very important in the global economy
mainly because of two factors: the continuously increasing need of highly qualified
workforce in the global economy and the flexible character the university, capable to
adapt to the changes induced by globalization.
Besides their role in the new global economy universities and in general
educational institutions that were central pivots of social differentiation or stratification in
modern societies
3
. Thereafter, educational equality is one of the central issues regarding
the general problem of inequality in society
4
. Educational inequality can be approached
with the concepts of academic integration or academic success.
In this paper we analyze comparatively academic institutions in a cross border
area situated in western Romania and eastern Hungary. Our goal is to better understand
the social factors determining academic success in higher education, the similarities and
differences between the two countries. The main objective of the underlying project
HERD: Higher Education for Social Cohesion Cooperative Research and Development
in a Cross-border area is to better understand the social mechanisms that create,
maintains or negatively affect social cohesion in a cross border area. Cross border areas
are special areas with an importance enhanced by globalization, in our particular case by
the fact that both countries are members of the E.U. The universities are in a unique
position in society regarding social cohesion because of their formative influence on the
elites of the society both ideologically and from the view of professional training.

1
J. L.de Meulemeester, D. Rochat, A causality analysis of the link between higher education and economic
development in Economics of Education Review, vol. 14, nr. 4, 1995, p. 351-361
2
G. Ritzer, Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debates, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010; J.D.
Schmidt, J.Hersh, Globalization and social change, Psychology Press,2000; J. E. Stiglitz, Globalization and
growth in emerging markets and the New Economy in Journal of Policy Modeling, vol. 25, nr. 5, 2003, p.
505-524.
3
L. Archer, M.Hutchings, A. Ross, Higher education and social class: issues of exclusion and inclusion,
Routledge, 2003; Y. Shavit, R. Arum, A. Gamoran, G. Menachem, Stratification in higher education: A
comparative study, Stanford Univ Press, 2007
4
C. Parsons, Education, exclusion, and citizenship, RoutledgeFalmer, 1999
Factors Determining Academic Success in Higher Education. A quantitative Analysis in the

245
The relationship between academic success and cohesion is more clear if we
considering academic success as a comprehensive integration of the student in higher
educational activities.

1. Theoretical considerations
1.1 The concept of academic success
Success in higher education is influenced by many social factors and all of them
have a deep analysis associated in the sociological literature
5
.First of all we have to clarify
the meaning of the term success in higher education.
Differentiation done by the grades obtained by the students is the most common
approach regarding academic success. In the Romanian universities we have a similar way
to evaluate students as in secondary school with grades from 1 to 10. The students need at
least a grade of 5 to get the credits for a university course. Higher grades means better
results and greater academic success, but this approach is misleading taking in account the
uneven way to evaluate students between professors and, mostly, the big differences
between faculties and specializations in the requirements set for the students. Competitive
faculties with a great number students and selectivity are more demanding than other
faculties that try to keep their students to survive. We considered that learning
performances measured by grades are too different for comparative reasons and decided to
measure this aspect by the performance scholarships received.
Learning performance and the concept of academic success are in a relative
relationship with the previous educational level of the student. For disadvantaged students
that received a special scholarship in the Romanian higher educational system it can be
considered a success if they are able to graduate, albeit with lower grades. In this respect,
retention in higher education of disadvantaged students can be considered a measure for
success.
Theoretically the problem of retention in higher education was developed in the
works of V. Tinto
6
. In Tintos theory attrition is the result of the experiences of the
students in the university. The social factors such as family or community background
(social status, economic conditions, educational influences) that are affecting individual
qualities such as academic preparedness are determining attitudes such as the initial
commitment and successively the subsequent goal commitment (that is to graduate).
Another set of attitude variables are institutional commitment which determines de
subsequent institutional commitment, the term subsequent underlining the fact that here
we have to deal with a process that determines the students persistence in higher education
by the interactions with the academic environment
7
.

5
R. Seginer, Parents' educational expectations and children's academic achievements: A literature review in
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental Psychology, 1983; W. H. Sewell, Inequality of
opportunity for higher education in American Sociological Review, vol. 36, nr. 5, 1971, p. 793-809;
W. H.Sewell, V. P. Shah, Socioeconomic status, intelligence, and the attainment of higher education in
Sociology of Education, 1967, p. 1-23
6
V. Tinto, Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research in Review of
educational research, vol. 45, nr. 1, 1975, p. 89-125; Idem,Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures
of student attrition, ERIC,1987; Idem,Colleges as Communities: Taking Research on Student Persistence
Seriously in Review of higher education, vol. 21, nr. 2, 1998, p. 167-177
7
M. Yorke, B. Longden, Retention & Student Success in Higher Education, Open University Press, 2004


246
In this model we have an explanatory, theoretical variable named academic
integration, as a part of broader social integration, which represents the multitudes of
interactions and relations that the students develops during their career in higher
education. The quantity and quality of these relationships and their effect on the
persistence or academic results of the students will determine the character of the
integration that can be expressed with concepts of intensity such as weak or deep. In
our study we used several variables for determining the way that the student integrated
itself in the academic activities:

activities at courses and seminaries such as putting questions, making presentations,
presenting papers on various subjects
relationship with teachers: talking about academic matters outside courses and
seminaries, talking about career prospects, getting feedback from teachers
relationship with colleagues: working together with colleagues, having discussions or
activities outside the courses

1.2 Factors of academic success
Our goal is to better understand the factors that determine academic success. The
theoretical model that we followed is presented in the figure.1 with relationships between
variables presented and tested in many sociological works
8
.
The economic capital of the students family will determine the socio-economic
status (SES) of the student. The economic resources needed for founding educational
participation are obtained by the students from their parents, from social or performance
scholarships and from working temporarily or permanently. In Romania, the phenomenon
of permanent employment during the academic year, especially for students with low SES,
is a major factor for attrition and low learning results in higher education
9
.
The cultural capital of the students parents has an important influence
(sociologically) on the student academic preparedness, regardless of the educational level
(secondary school or higher education)
10
. Academic preparedness represents the
educational level accumulated by students before getting into the university which is a
strong predictor for academic success in university. Academic preparedness includes the
ability to learn, measured by the grades obtained by the student in secondary school. Good
results obtained in secondary school by the student are a good predictor towards academic
success in higher education
11
.

8
J. S. Coleman, Equality and achievement in education, 1990; V. Tinto, op.cit., 1975, 1987, 1998
9
W. H.Sewell, V. P.Shah, op.cit., p. 1-23
10
A. Hatos, S. Sorana, F. Chipea, Education and Social Exclusion of Adolescents in Romania, University of
Oradea Press,2009; A. Lareau, Social class differences in family-school relationships: The importance of
cultural capital in Sociology of Education, 1987, p. 73-85
11
A. Hatos, S. Sorana, F. Chipea, op. cit., 2009

247
Figure 1. Factors determining academic successes

Source: research team

The variable student academic preparedness
12
is a very important explanatory
variable in understanding academic integration. Our hypothesis is that academic
preparedness is associated with initial commitment.
The student's family cultural capital and the community in which the student lived
prior to attending university determine what we call habitus, a concept advanced by
Bourdieu which has a wider, cultural significance
13
. The habitus of the student may differ
substantially from the university culture that seeks to integrate the student, generating
difficulties of academic integration because of the communicational conflict between
student and the academic environment.
We use the concept habitus as an explanatory variable, to explain the
relationship between the cultural capital of the student and academic integration
14
. From a
sociological point of view, we consider that the concept of habitus contains the student's
motivation that is associated with lifestyle, social values concepts which are part of the
person's habitus. The cultural capital of the student's family can be measured effectively
by the educational level of the parents. The community plays an important role in forming
the student's habitus, especially in the case of some disadvantaged categories such as
students from rural areas or Roma students.
The student academic preparedness as well as the student's habitus is influenced
by the educational institution (the secondary school). Many students will follow upper
secondary school in big city lyceums creating often a mentality gap between them and
their families and communities.
Academic integration is at the center of the explanatory model. Integration
represents a process in which the student develops a series of relationships with teachers
and other academic staff as well as with fellow students. The quality and quantity of these
relations can establish that character of the academic integration. By the quality of the
relationships we understand the meaningful interactions between students and their

12
R. Zwick, Rethinking the SAT: The future of standardized testing in university admissions, Routledge, 2004
13
P. Bourdieu, J. C. Passeron, Reproduction in education, society, and culture, Sage Publications Ltd., 1990
14
S. A. Dumais, Cultural capital, gender, and school success: The role of habitus in Sociology of Education,
2002, p. 44-68; A. Hatos, Sociologia educaiei, Polirom, Iai, 2006; A. Nora, The role of habitus and cultural
capital in choosing a college, transitioning from high school to higher education, and persisting in college
among minority and nonminority students in Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, vol. 3, nr. 2, 2004, p.
180-208.

248
academic environment which enables them to reach their goal or, furthermore, to better
define their interests in higher education. In this respect we can mention forms of
academic participation such as participation at courses and seminars, working on projects
with teachers or other students etc.
Also, academic integration can be measured by the results obtained by the student
with the logic of better grades better integration. We consider that this the weakest
way to measure integration because of the relativity of success measured by grades and
academic preparedness.
Academic integration is influenced directly by the economic situation of the
students family; students with low SES are more preoccupied with acquiring the means
necessary to finish their education and hence their academic participation can be hindered.
The student habitus effect directly academic integration often lowering the effectiveness
of the student academic preparedness in academic integration. For example, a student with
relatively good academic preparedness can be perceived differently by the teachers and
university staff because of some traits particular to the cultural group he/she belongs.
Academic integration is directly influenced by the institutional culture which is
particular to every organization
15
. In this respect we distinguish two main types of
institutions: universities that are offering higher post-graduation potential, with high
selectivity and a "meritocratic culture" and academic institutions that are not as
prestigious, more inclined towards equalizing opportunities on social criteria. When
considering students with low SES, some studies assert that more prestigious universities
have a higher rate of persistence for students with low SES than less prestigious academic
institutions
16
.
Finally, we have to spend of few words on the attitudinal process influenced by
academic integration: the transformation of initial commitment in subsequent
commitment. Initial commitment is directly influenced by the students academic
preparedness (the ability to learn) and by the students habitus. This commitment is
expressed by goals towards graduation, learning experiences, academic results etc. The
academic integration process transforms the initial commitment in subsequent
commitment, which is the attitude factor in determining decisions such as stopping,
putting learning on second place or towards more academic involvement.

1.3 Methodological aspects
We couldnt confirm in his entirety the theoretical model analyzed above because
we didnt have the opportunity to measure all of the variables needed. We attempted, in
the present study, a comparative analysis of some of the relationships contained by the
theoretical model.
Regarding our study we considered that are important differences between
Romania and Hungary in economic and social development, educational policies and
cultural aspects. Taken in account these issues, we believed that we needed a comparative
analysis, which required a separation of the sample by country.
Our sample contains 1323 students questioned from Romania, 1295 from
Hungary and only 109 from Ukraine. We considered, regarding comparative reasons, that

15
K. Manning, Rituals, ceremonies, and cultural meaning in higher education, Praeger Pub Text, 2000
16
M. A. Titus, Understanding college degree completion of students with low socioeconomic status: The
influence of the institutional financial context in Research in Higher Education, vol. 47, nr. 4, 2006,
p. 371-398

249
the small sample of Ukrainian students is not representative statistically and we eliminated
them from the analysis.
The cross-border area of Hajdu Bihar-Bihor was a region economically and
culturally integrated until 1918 when the Partium region was divided between Hungary
and Romania. Until separation, the Partium region was an economically and culturally
thriving region but afterwards Hajdu-Bihar County suffered from the lower economic
development of eastern Hungary and Bihor County has developed a mediocre economy
slightly above the Romanian average.
Because of the differences mentioned before, the results cannot be generalized on
the national level. However, the two big universities that forms the majority of the sample,
the University of Oradea from Romania and the University of Debrecen from Hungary are
in some way typical higher education institutions, at least for an important part of the
higher educational system in both countries. University of Oradea is a public university
characteristic to smaller cities in Romania. These types of institutions are considered
medium or low prestige institutions with low student selectivity. The other institution
forming the Romanian sample is the Partium Christian University which is one of the
many private universities in Romania. The existence of many private universities in
Romania is on the main differences between the Romanian and the Hungarian educational
systems. The University of Debrecen from Hungary is a relatively large public university
with a long tradition.

Table 1. The sample: students questioned
Institutions Frequency Percent
University of Debrecen (Hu) 1118 42,7
University of Oradea (Ro) 714 27,3
Partium Christian University (Ro) 407 15,5
Other institutions 379 14,5
Sample Total 2618 100,0

As we mentioned before we were part of a multidimensional study and therefore
not all the variables present in the theoretical model were measures. Academic
preparedness is difficult o measure because we didnt have at the time of the survey entry
exams for the students that participated in our sample. Although habitus has a great
explanatory potential we werent confident that an index constructed from variables
present in our questionnaire is theoretically sound enough for analysis. Therefore we
analyzed the relationship between economic and cultural capital of the students parents
and academic integration.

2. The results
2.1 The relationship between the students family economic capital and
academic integration
One way to measure academic integration is by constructing a participation index. We had
in our questionnaire variables that measured different forms of participation related to
activities at courses and seminaries as well as interactions outside the classroom activities
but related to learning subjects, variables that we used to construct a participation index.

250
The index had minimum of 13 participations and a maximum of 52 in one academic year
and then we divided the index in four ordered categories with the results shown in
Figure 2.

Figure 2. Participation at courses and seminaries
(entire sample from Romania and Hungary)

We measured the economic capital of the students family by an index constructed
from various variables regarding the wellbeing of the family. The index has 8 ordered
categories which represent the amount of material possessions relevant for the family
economic status, 0 representing no possessions and 8 the maximum possessions in our
sample.

Figure 3. Economic wellbeing of the students family
(economic capital) (entire sample from Romania and Hungary)

The directional and symmetric measures shows us that there is a significant
positive correlation between the parents economic capital and the students academic
participation (for example we obtained the following statistics: Somersd 0.107; Gamma
0.127; Spearman Correlation 0.109; Pearson's R 0.123 all statistics at Approx. Sig. =0) in
the Romanian part of the sample; in the Hungarian part of the sample we didnt found a
relationship between the above-mentioned variables. That means that in the Romanian
part of the sample students with lower economic capital are less integrated than in
Hungary.
The differences between the two countries are in part explainable by the
differences in the social protection offered to disadvantaged students and by the higher
selectivity of the academic institutions participating in the sample. We studied
disadvantaged students from the sample and we observed that in Hungary are much more

251
social scholarships received by the students 29,5% comparatively with only 8,5% in
Romania. In the Romanian part of the sample we observed that are more students that are
working frequently during the academic year (18.4%) than in Hungary (15.5%) which is
symptom of the economic difficulties faced by some students in university. Another factor
explaining the differences between Romanian and Hungarian parts of the sample is
represented by the higher selectivity of the University of Debrecen comparatively with the
University of Oradea or the Partium Christian University that are form Romania. Higher
selectivity ensures a greater homogeneity of the students regarding habitus. This assertion
is in accordance with our hypothesis that academic preparedness is associated with the
students habitus; students with good results in secondary school are more influenced by
the academic institution regarding their habitus and they are more receptive towards
changing their habitus in accordance with academic institutions.

2.2 The relationship between the students family cultural capital and
academic integration
The cultural capital of the students family is an important factor of academic
integration influencing both academic preparedness and the habitus of the student. The
best way to measure cultural capital is by measuring the parents level of education. There
are some considerations that the fathers education is what matters when considering the
influences of the familys capital on the students academic preparedness or habitus and,
through these variables, on academic integration. On the other hand, it can be considered
that both parents education is important in constructing the profile of the family cultural
type. One reason for that is that the families in the area studied by us are more egalitarian,
in part as a result of the influence of the former communist regime. Another reason is that
women are more involved in the education of their children. We used the mean between
the years of education of the father and mother of the student, obtaining a variable with a
minimum of 6 and a maximum of 21 and we divided in 4 groups corresponding to the
levels in the educational system.

Figure 3. Level of education of the students family (cultural capital)
(entire sample from Romania and Hungary)

What we observe is that the majority of the students (62.2%) have both parents
with at least baccalaureate (or equivalent). The data shoes that students from rural areas

252
have parents with lower education that those from urban areas. The data from table 2
shows that the parents of the students have very similar level of education.

Table 2. Statistics of level of parents education
Statistics Mother_Yrs._of education Father_Yrs._of education
Mean 12,8776 12,7045
Median 12,0000 12,0000
Std. Deviation 2,58487 2,50022
Minimum 6,00 6,00
Maximum 21,00 21,00

The directional and symmetric measures showed us that there is no significant
correlation between the parents cultural capital and the students academic participation
in both parts of the sample. The same result was obtained when we tested the relationship
between the fathers level of education and the students academic participation. The
explanation for the absence of influence of the parents cultural capital on academic
participation is due partly to the little influence that parents have on academic
preparedness in upper higher school. Academic preparedness seems to be influenced more
by the quality of the secondary school and the intellectual abilities of the student.
Secondly, habitus seems to be not as important in a society that is not that class
conscious, especially taken in account the low selectivity of the institutions that
participated in our analysis. Interestingly, when we measured the habitus through
variables such as how many times you go to theatre we observed a significant positive
correlation with academic participation. The same significant positive correlation was
observed between the variable going to the theatre and the parents level of education.

2.3 The subsequent commitment
This research wasnt designed for analyzing the evolvement of the commitment of
the students. When we analyzed the variable regarding the probability that the student will
not finish higher education we observe a significant positive correlation between the
aforementioned variable and student participation in the Romanian part of the sample but
we did not observed the same relationship in the Hungarian part of the sample. This
correlation seems to clarify the process, at least for the Romanian part of the sample,
following the logic that students that are less involved in the activities at the university are
more likely to think about quitting higher education. There is no relationship between the
intention of quitting studies and the cultural capital of the students family. We found a
significant negative correlation between the intention of quitting and the students family
economic capital in both parts of the sample. That result seems to indicate that poorer
students value more their studies even if they are not performing very well academically.

3. Conclusions
Our goal was to better understand the factors that determine academic success.
We analyzed success through the concept of academic integration measured effectively by
an academic participation index. The two main factors analyzed regarding the students
family created two very different pictures:

253
Economic capital represent a moderately important explanatory factor for academic
success in the area analyzed by us, explaining somewhat (especially in the Romanian
part of the sample) academic integration and the subsequent commitment (the
possibility to quit studies)
Cultural capital represents a theoretically intriguing factor, that seems to be logically
used in the explanation of academic success and integration but we didnt observe
statistically significant relationships involving cultural capital. This maybe
explainable with the particular social configuration of the area analyzed. We consider
that the concept of habitus needs more theoretical and empirical attention

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Archer, L.; Hutchings, M.; Ross, A.,Higher education and social class: issues of exclusion
and inclusion, Routledge, 2003;
Bourdieu, P.; Passeron, J. C.,Reproduction in education, society, and culture, Sage
Publications Ltd., 1990;
Coleman, J. S.,Equality and achievement in education, 1990;
De Meulemeester, J. L.; Rochat, D. A, Causality analysis of the link between higher
education and economic development inEconomics of Education Review, vol. 14, nr.
4, 1995;
Dumais, S. A.,Cultural capital, gender, and school success: The role of habitus in
Sociology of Education, 2002;
Hatos, A.,Sociologia educaiei, Polirom, Iai, 2006;
Hatos, A.; Sorana, S.; Chipea, F.,Education and Social Exclusion of Adolescents in
Romania, University of Oradea Press, 2009;
Lareau, A.,Social class differences in family-school relationships: The importance of
cultural capital inSociology of Education, 1987;
Manning, K.,Rituals, ceremonies, and cultural meaning in higher education, Praeger Pub
Text, 2000;
Nora, A., The role of habitus and cultural capital in choosing a college, transitioning
from high school to higher education, and persisting in college among minority and
nonminority students inJournal of Hispanic Higher Education, vol. 3, nr. 2, 2004;
Parsons, C.,Education, exclusion, and citizenship, RoutledgeFalmer, 1999;
Ritzer, G.,Readings in Globalization: Key Concepts and Major Debates,
Wiley-Blackwell, 2010;
Schmidt, J. D.; Hersh, J.,Globalization and social change, Psychology Press, 2000;
Seginer, R.,Parents' educational expectations and children's academic achievements: A
literature review in Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Journal of Developmental
Psychology, 1983;
Sewell, W. H.,Inequality of opportunity for higher education inAmerican Sociological
Review, vol. 36, nr. 5, 1971;
Sewell, W. H.; Shah, V. P.,Socioeconomic status, intelligence, and the attainment of
higher education in Sociology of Education, 1967;
Shavit, Y.; Arum, R.; Gamoran, A.; Menachem, G.,Stratification in higher education: A
comparative study, Stanford Univ Pr., 2007;

254
Stiglitz, J. E.,Globalization and growth in emerging markets and the New Economy
inJournal of Policy Modeling, vol. 25, nr. 5, (2003);
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inReview of educational research, vol. 45, nr. 1, 1975;
Idem,Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition, ERIC,1987;
Idem,Colleges as Communities: Taking Research on Student Persistence Seriously
inReview of higher education, vol. 21, nr. 2, 1998;
Titus, M. A.,Understanding college degree completion of students with low
socioeconomic status: The influence of the institutional financial context in
Research in Higher Education, vol. 47, nr. 4, 2006;
Yorke, M.; Longden, B., Retention & Student Success in Higher Education, Open
University Press, 2004;
Zwick, R., Rethinking the SAT: The future of standardized testing in university
admissions, Routledge, 2004.

THE SOLVING OF LABOR LITIGATIONS
ACCORDING TO THE NEW CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE

Mircea URSUA
*

Abstract: The New Civil Procedure Code brings forward a few important changes
regarding litigation solving, and thus also affecting work litigations. The important
modifications are referring to the remedies at law, to the procedure of producing evidence
in the lower trial court, to the procedure of execution of court decisions. Although the
novelties are important as far as competence is concerned, regarding work litigations, the
legislative opted to maintain the competence of the Tribunal for work litigation solving in
first instance, due to the experience of the judges of this court during time.

Keywords: work litigation, procedure, enforcement of judgments

1.Preliminary specifications
The New Civil Procedure Code
1
, which will come into force on July the 1
st
2013,
brings forward major changes regarding the solving of litigations
2
, thus affecting labor
disputes. The important modifications are referring to the application of the procedural
law in time, to the procedure of presenting evidence in front of the court, to the means of
appeal, and to the execution procedure of the judgments.
Although the novelties are important as far as competence is concerned, in the
matter of labor litigations, the legislator has opted for maintaining the tribunals
competence for solving work litigations, as a lower court, due to the specialization of its
judges in time.

*
Lecturer, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: m_ursuta@yahoo.com
1
The abbreviation NCPC (New Civil Procedure Code) will be used.
2
For a general view regarding the new aspects of the future civil procedure code, see Mircea Ursuta, Sinteza
noutatilor Codului de procedura civila Prezentare Comparativa Noul Cod de Procedura Penala si Codul
Anterior ((Synthesis of the novelties of the Civil Procedure Code in Comparative Presentation The New Civil
Procedure Code and the Anterior Code).
Mircea URSUA

256
2.Applying the New Civil Procedure Codes dispositions in time
Before punctually presenting the new aspects, a necessary specification must be
made regarding the application of the new dispositions in time. Thus, according to article
3 of Law no.76/2012 The dispositions of the Civil Procedure Code are only applied to
trials and forced executions begun after its coming into force.
Therefore, in all trials started
3
before the entry into force of the new civil
procedure code, the dispositions applicable will be those established on Januarythe
31
st
2013 in the present civil procedure code
4
, and the new code will be applicable only to
litigations started after February the 1st 2013
5
.
On the other hand, even if in the future the dispositions of the NCPC will be
modified, it is necessary to mention that the principle of the immediate application of the
new civil procedure law, consecrated in the Romanian civil procedure has been replaced
with another principle the procedural law that governs the beginning of the trial is also
the procedural law that will end the trial, article 24 of the NCPC, mentioning that the
dispositions of the new procedural law will be applied only to trials and forced executions
begun after its entry into force, and article 27 establishes that Judgments remain subject
to the means of appeal, motifs and court days disposed by the law that governed the
beginning of the trial.

3. Competence regarding the solving of labor litigations
Although as far as competence is concerned a lot of changes intervened,
concerning labor law, the legislator has opted for maintaining the tribunals competence
for solving work litigations, as a lower court, in accordance to article 95 NCPC, and thus
becoming a common law court. In this way, all labor conflicts, no matter the value, will
be of the material competence of the tribunal.
Regarding territorial competence, article 284 paragraph 2 of the Labor Code
remains unchanged, meaning that the competence will pertain to the tribunal where the
claimant resides, respectively has its registered office, or according to article 210 of Law
no. 62/2011, where the claimant works.
Article 46 of Law no. 76/2012, for the implementation of Law no.134/2010
regarding the Civil Procedure Code has solved the anterior divergence of opinion
6
,
concerning the territorial competence in the case of an active procedural solidarity.
Therefore, a new paragraph 3 was introduced in the text of article 269 of the Labor Code,
which establishes that in the case of the active procedural co-participation, the demand
may be introduced to the competent court for any of the claimants.

3
Art 3 paragraph 2 of Law no.76/2012 disposes that Trials begun by demands that were handed in, according
to the conditions of the law, at the post office, military units or holding places before the date of the entry into
force of the Civil Procedure Code, will remain governed by the old law, even if they are registered by the
Court after this date.
4
Regarding traffic contraventions, for the litigations handled by the lower court on July 18
th
2012 and for the
complaints registered between this date and January 31
st
2013, the means of appeal will be the the second type
of appeal according to Decision no. 500/2012 of the Constitutional Court, published in the Official Bulletin
no. 492 of July 18
th
2012. For details see Mircea Ursuta, Scurt comentariu cu privire la implicatiile practice
ale Deciziei no. 500/2012 a Curtii Constitutionale (Short Commentary on the practical implications of
Decision no. 500/2012 of the Constitutional Court) in Pandectele Saptamanale no. 22/2012, p. 3-5
5
Date established by the unique article of the Governments Emergency Ordinance no.44/2012 for the entry
into force of the New Civil Procedure Code.
6
See A. Ticlea, Tratat de dreptul muncii (Treatise on Labor Law), Universul Juridic Publishing House,
Bucharest, 2011, p. 965-967.
The Solving of Labor Litigations According to the New Civil Procedure Code

257
The NCPC imposes that at the first court date, when the parties are legally
summoned in front of the lower court, the judge has to verify and to establish ex officio, if
the addressed court is generally, materially and territorially competent, putting down its
findings and the legal grounds on which they stand in a resolution with interlocutory
character, according to the dispositions of article 131 paragraph 1 of NCPC. Article 131
paragraph 2 of the NCPC establishes that a single defer term will be awarded in order to
verify and establish the competence of the court.
Regarding the exception of incompetence, article 130 establishes that public
material incompetence and public territorial incompetence of the court can be invoked by
the parties or by the Court ex officio, at the first court date when the parties are legally
summoned in front of the lower court. Incompetence of private order can be invoked only
by the defendant in his statement of defense. If the statement of defense is not mandatory,
the defendant will be able to refer to the exception on the first court date in front of the
lower court, court date for which the parties have to be legally summoned. The present
regulation establishes that the parties may invoke the material and territorial exception of
public order until the beginning of the debates on the matter.
The exception will be solved by the panel of judges that was addressed with the
writ of summons, which, according to the provisions of the article 132 of the NCPC, has
to establish if the judicial court is competent. If it declares itself incompetent, the court
will decline the competence to the competent court or jurisdictional body. The judgment
regarding the declining of competence is not subject to any means of appeal, with the
exception of the situation stipulated by article 132 paragraph 4, when the court indicates
the competence of a foreign court or of a body that lacks jurisdictional activity, and then
the judgment will be submitted to appeal in front of the superior court, in the situation of
labor conflicts, to the Court of Appeal.
The provisions of article 140 and the following articles regarding the resettlement
of the case, stipulate that the competent court that has to pronounce itself concerning a
resettlement request is the Court of Appeal. If the resettlement request is admitted, the
court will displace the cause to another court with the same rank, belonging to its
circumscription. If the resettlement is requested based on a legitimate suspicion in a labor
litigation that is in the phase of the first degree appeal in front of the Court of Appeal, the
competence for solving the request will belong to the High Justice and Cassation Court,
which, if it admits the request, will move the case to a neighboring court of appeal,
according to article 145 paragraph 1 of NCPC.
Regarding the conflict of competence, article 135 paragraph 4 of the NCPC
provides that the judgment contained in the competence regulator will be awarded without
summoning the parties and will be final, differing from the present regulation, which
establishes in article 22 paragraph 5 of the Civil Procedure Code that the judgment that is
pronounced is susceptible of appeal in 5 days from its communication, with the exception
of the judgment pronounced by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

4. The written phase in labor litigations
According to article 199 of the NCPC, the writ of summons will receive a
certified date and will be considered registered by the application of the entry stamp. After
registration, the writs of summons, together with all the documents that accompany it, will
be handed in to the Courts president, in order to aleatory establish a panel of judges. The
panel of judges that is invested will immediately verify if the writ of summons meets all
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the conditions provided by article 194-197 of the NCPC. If the writ of summons is found
to be noncompliant, based on article 200, paragraph 2, the claimant will have to be
informed about it, with the mention that in a period of maxim 10 days it has to be
modified or supplemented, on the contrary, the annulment of the writ of summons will be
disposed.
Based on paragraph 4 of article 200 of the NCPC, the claimant will be able to
formulate only one reexamination request against the annulment resolution, in a period of
15 days from the date of the communication of the resolution. According to article 200
paragraph 6, the request will be resolved by another panel of judges, in the counsel
chamber, by summoning the claimant, and if the reexamination request is admitted, article
200 paragraph 7 disposes that the file will be retransmitted to the panel of judges initially
invested. The present regulations establish that the sanction for the lack of modifying the
writs of summons is the suspension of the trial based on the unfulfillment of the
obligations imposed by the court.
After it is found that the claimants writs of summons is thorough, the judge will
dispose by resolution, according to article 201 of the NCPC, the communication of the
writs of summons to the defendant, with the mention that the defendant has to hand in a
statement of defense in a term of 25 days from the communication of the writs of
summons. Article 208 paragraph 2 establishes that the sanction for not handing in the
statement of defense in the mentioned period is identical to the present one, and
specifically, declining the defendant the right to propose evidence and to invoke
exceptions, besides those of public order, if the law does not establish otherwise. Differing
from the in force procedure code, article 201 paragraph 2 of the NCPC establishes that the
statement of defense will be immediately communicated to the claimant and the claimant
has to hand in an answer to the statement of defense in a period of 10 days from the
communication. The defendant will be able to get acquainted with the content of the
response to the statement of defense from the case file.
The considerable novelties are referring to the establishment of the first court day.
The present article 114
1
paragraph 1 of the Civil Procedure Code stipulates that after the
court establishes the accomplishment of the conditions provided by law for the writs of
summons, the president will settle the court day. In the future regulation, according to
article 201 paragraph 3 NCPC, 3 days after the handing-in of the answer to the statement
of defense, by resolution, the judge will establish the first court day, which will be the
latest after 60 days from the date of the resolution. We consider that these modifications
are very important from the perspective of the celerity of the civil trial, but we hope that
the implementation of the new procedural norms will not generate difficulties in applying
them.

5. The trial investigation and the taking of evidence
According to article 238 of the NCPC, in order to solve trials with celerity, the
judge, after hearing the parties, will estimate the necessary duration for the trial
investigation, duration which will be put down by the judge in a resolution. The judge
may reconsider this duration, if during the trial investigation, serious reasons impose this
modification, and, only after hearing the parties.
Article 240 of the NCPC establishes as the place for the trial investigation, the
Chamber of Counsel, but there is a discussion regarding a draft project for a law which
will dispose the postponement of these stipulations until January the 1
st
2016.

259
According to article 272 of the Labor Code, which remains unchanged, burden of
proof in labor litigations is always pertaining to the employer, who will hand in the
defense evidence by statement of defense. Although it was repeatedly attempted to declare
this disposition unconstitutional, the Constitutional Court has decided that the burden of
proof imposed to the employer does not breach the free access to justice principle,
considering that the employer is the one who has access to the conclusive and useful
evidence
7
. This disposition of the Labor code, which will remain valid even after the entry
into force of the New Code, is contrary to the stipulations of article 29 of the NCPC that
imputes the burden of proof to the person making an allegation during the course of the
trial.
The applicable law to the evidence admissibility conditions, as well as to the
probative power of the pre-set evidence and of the legal presumptions will be the law in
force at the date when the facts that make the object of the evidence were produced,
according to article 26 paragraph 1 of the NCPC. In exchange, according to paragraph 2 of
the same article, the taking of evidence will be made according to the law in force at that
moment.
According to article 251 of the NCPC, no one has to demonstrate what the court is
held to know ex officio, i.e., according to article 252 of the NCPC, the law in force in
Romania. Regarding the texts that are not published in the Official Bulletin of Romania or
in any another modality stipulated by the law, international conventions, treaties and
agreements applicable to Romania, which are not integrated or contained in a text of law,
as well as regarding international customary law, article 252 paragraph 2 of the NCPC
provides for the party the obligation to prove their content and aplicability.
The uncontested facts or the facts which are of public notoriety do not have to be
proven, if the court, taking into account the circumstances of the cause, considers the
matter enlightened regarding that aspect, according to article 255 paragraph of the NCPC.
Also, according to article 255 paragraph 3 of the NCPC, usages, deontological rules and
settled practice between the parties, have to be proven by the party that invokes them.
According to the 4
th
paragraph of the same article, statutes and local regulations only have
to be proven if the court imposes this obligation to the party that initially invoked them.
The evidence must be proposed in the deadline established by the law; otherwise
it shall be declined, with the exception of the situations indicated by article 254 paragraph
2 of the NCPC, cases in which the party can propose the evidence after the deadline; in the
labor litigations, the deadline for the employer, who has the obligation to suggest the
evidence, is the same with the deadline for the deposit of the statement of defense.
According to article 254 paragraph 2 of the NCPC, the evidence will be subsequently
approved if:
1.The necessity of the evidence results from the modification of the claim;
2.The need to administer the evidence results from the judicial investigation and the
party could not have foreseen it;
3.The party shows, based on justified reasons, that it was not able to propose the
required evidence in the limits of the dead line.
4.Administering the evidence does not lead to the postponement of the judgment;
5.An express agreement of all the parties involved exists.

7
See I. T. Stefanescu, Tratat de dreptul muncii (Labor Law Treatise), 2nd Edition, Universul Juridic
Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012, p. 909-910
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Based on article 254 paragraph 3 of the NCPC, the adverse party will have the
right to contrary evidence only on the same aspect for which the invoked evidence was
approved in the conditions of article 254 paragraph 2 of the NCPC.
The court can propose evidence ex officio or may ask for the supplementing of the existent
evidence, according to article 254 paragraph 5, but the parties will not be able to invoke,
during the means of appeal, the courts omission to order evidence ex officio, interdiction
expressly stipulated by article 254 paragraph 4 of the NCPC.
Significant novelties are to be signaled regarding the proving documents. Thus, as
a premiere, documents on electronic support are regulated as means of evidence. The
dispositions of article 282 of the NCPC qualifies the document that reproduces the data of
a legal act rendered on electronic support as a probative instrument of the legal act, but
only if it is intelligible and presents sufficiently serious guaranties in order to insure the
veracity of the content and of the identity of the person who wrote it.
Article 283 institutes a legal presumption of validity regarding the inscription of
the data pertaining to a legal act on electronic support, under the condition that the
inscription is made in a systematic manner and without lacunas and only when the data is
protected against any attempt of alteration or counterfeit, thus the integrity of the
document is being fully assured.
Between the parties, the document on electronic support makes the full proof of
the legal act until contrary evidence, and if the support or the technology used does not
guarantee the integrity of the document, then it can be considered a beginning of written
evidence.
According to article 262 paragraph 1 of the NCPC, the expenses caused by
administrating an evidence will be supported by the party that has asked for it, but,
regarding labor litigations, articles 287 and 288 of the Labor Code impute theses expenses
to the employer, considering that the employer has the duty of providing the evidence,
even if the evidence is approved at the employees request.
8

6. First phase debate
If the judge considers that he/she has no another inquiries about the case, he/she
will declare, by resolution, that the investigation of the trial is over, and, according to
article 244, will establish a court date for the debate. Article 244 paragraph 2 confers upon
the parties the right to hand in notes regarding their allegations, with at least 5 days before
the court day established for the debate. The handing in of theses written conclusions does
not affect the parties rights to formulate oral conclusions.
According to article 391 NCPC, the court may dispose the supplementation or the
remake of certain evidence, if the debates lead to the necessity of such measures. Also,
based on article 394, paragraph 2, the parties may hand in supplements to the notes made
according to article 244, but only until the closing of the debates. The handing-in of any
document to the cases file, after the closing of the debates, will be sanctioned by not
being taken into consideration by the court, sanction established by article 394 paragraph
3.

8
See L. Onica Chipea, Regimul juridic al conflictelor individuale de munc, (The Individual Regime of
Individual Work Conflicts), Universul JuridicPublishing House, Bucharest, 2012, p. 168-169.

261
7. The judges sentence
Article 427 of the NCPC states that all sentences will be communicated to the
parties, even if they are final.
The new code brings important modifications regarding the res judicata (case law)
of the judgments. Thus, article 430 paragraph 2 of the NCPC establishes that the res
judicata regards not only the judgment, as the present regulations dispose, but also the
grounds on which it stands. Moreover, article 461 paragraph 2 regulates the possibility of
exercising the means of appeal only against the grounds.
Regarding the payment of the salaries or of other monetary rights based on labor
relations, as well as in the case of indemnifications due for work accidents, article 448
paragraph 1 point 2 and 3 institutes to the lower courts judgment a lawfully executory
character. The execution of theses sentences will be, according to article 448 paragraph 2,
of provisional character.

8. Means of appeal
The New Code of Civil Procedure brings in major changes concerning the system
of the means of appeal. The appeal of first degree will effectively become the common
mean of appeal, according to article 456 of the NCPC, and thus, with the exception of the
judgments that stay final in front of the lower court (for example, judgments regarding
claims of receivables having as object the payment of a sum up to 2000 lei, inclusively),
with the exception of the judgments pronounced in contentious administrative and in the
matter of asylum and with the exception of certain resolutions or sentences expressly
established by the NCPC which will only be subject to the second type of appeal, all
sentences will be subject to being attacked by the means of first degree appeal.
The majority of judgments can only be contested by the means of the first degree
appeal, including the judgments given in labor litigations by the tribunal, when the
tribunal is considered to be the lower court. Practically, the situations stipulated by
special laws, among which those regarding labor conflicts, too, and those trials which are
already in course by the time of the entry into force of the new Civil Procedure Code, it is
only possible to use the means of the second degree appeal in the conditions of the special
second degree appeal established by article 204 index 1 of the Civil Procedure Code of
1865, in the new regulation theses judgments may be subject only to the first degree
appeal and will become final by exercising the first degree appeal, not being subject
anymore to the second appeal.
Thus, article 7 of Law no.76/2012 establishes that If the present law does not
otherwise provide, each time that by a special law it is stipulated that a judgment
(sentence) of the lower court is final, from the date of the entry into force of the Civil
Procedure Code, it will only be subject to the first degree appeal in front of the
hierarchical superior court. (2) The dispositions of paragraph (1) are also applicable if a
special law establishes that the judgment (sentence) of the lower court is subject to a
second degree appeal, or it can be attacked by a second degree appeal, or, where
appropriate, the special law uses another similar expression (3). The stipulations of
paragraphs (1) and (2) are not applicable in the matter of the contentious administrative
and of the fiscal, including the matter of the asylum.
Based on article 461 of the NCPC, it is possible to formulate a first degree appeal
only regarding the grounds of the judgment. If the means of appeal is only focused on the
grounds of the judgment by which certain matters of law were solved, which have no
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relation with the judgment of that trial or which are wrong or contain findings that are
detrimental to the party, the court, by admitting the means of appeal will eliminate those
grounds and will replace them with its own grounds, maintaining the solution contained in
the attacked judgment.
Another element of novelty is represented by the provisions of article 457
paragraph (3) of the NCPC which establishes that if the court rejects as inadmissible the
means of appeal that is not stipulated by law, used by the interested party in considering
the inexact mention from the content of the judgment regarding the means of appeal, the
judgment pronounced by the judicial control court will be communicated, ex officio, to all
the parties that took part in the judgment, during which the attacked decision was
pronounced. The delay for using the means of appeal provided by the law will be counted
from the date of communication. This modification is a consequence of the application of
the principle of establishing the means of appeal by law and not by the judge.
In most cases, the means of appeal will be declared from the date of the
communication of the judgment (for example, in the case of the contestation for
annulment or for revision, because, as previously shown, all judgments will be
communicated according to the conditions of the New Civil Procedure Code), as
stipulated by the dispositions of article 427 paragraph 1 of the NCPC. The time limit for
exercising the first degree appeal will be of 30 days from the date of the communication of
the judgment, according to article 468 paragraph 1 of the NCPC.
The principle non reformatio in pejus has a slightly different approach in the
NCPC. Thus, according to article 481 of the NCPC, the appealing party cannot be put in a
worse situation than the one contained in the attacked judgment, with the exception of the
case when it expressly consents to it or in the cases established by the law; nevertheless,
according to article 432 of the NCPC, as an effect of the admission of the exception of res
judicata, the appealing party may obtain a worse situation than the one from the contested
judgment.
According to article 471 of the NCPC, the first degree appeal and, where
necessary, the grounds of the appeal, are lodged at the court that pronounced the contested
judgment, under the sanction of nullity. After receiving the request for appeal,
respectively the grounds for appeal, the president of the court that pronounced the
contested judgment will order their communication to the respondent, together with the
certified copies of the enclosed documents that were not shown in the first trial, informing
the respondent about the obligation of enclosing his objections to the file in a period of 15
days from the date of communication.
The court that received the statement of defense will immediately communicate it
to the appealing party, informing it of its obligation of handing in for the file its response
to the statement of defense in a period of maximum 10 days from the date of the
communication. The party that made the statement of defense will be informed of the
response from the cases file. The president, after the fulfillment of the time limit for the
first degree appeal for all the parties, will pass the file to the court that will judge the first
degree appeal, together with the appeals that were introduced, the statement of defense,
the response to the statement of defense and the proof of the communication of these
documents.
Regarding the appeal for annulment and revision, the rules are similar with those
of today, with the specification that the time limit for exercising theses means of appeal
will be related to the moment of the communication of the final judgment.


263
9. The preliminary judgment in order to solve an issue of law
An absolute novelty is brought forward by the proceedings stipulated by articles
519-521 of the NCPC. According to article 519, if during the trial, the judges named for
solving the cause in the highest court of appeal, i.e., the judges of the High Cassation and
Justice Court, of the Court of Appeal or of the Tribunal, find that a fundamental law issue
regarding the solving of the case is new and has not made the object of a decision of the
High Cassation and Justice Court, or of a second degree appeal in the interest of the law,
the judges will be able to ask the High Court to pronounce a judgment in order to give a
solution in principle to the law issue that was brought forward.
Article 520 paragraph 2 of the NCPC establishes that the respective trial will be
suspended until the pronunciation of the preliminary judgment which will solve the
submitted matter of law, and paragraph 4 also allows for the suspension of similarly trials
that are being judged.
A judge named by the president of the panel of judges will draw up a report
regarding the matter of law submitted for judgment, report that will be communicated to
the parties, that, according to article 520 paragraph 10 of the NCPC are allowed to hand
in, by lawyer or juridical counselor, their points of view concerning the matter of law, in
maximum 15 days from the date of the communication of the report.
The notice will be judged without the summoning of the parties, in maximum 3
months from the date when the High Court was addressed, according to article 520
paragraph 12 of the NCPC. Subsequently, the Code stipulates that no abstentions from the
vote are allowed, and the judgment will be made with a qualified majority of at least two
thirds of the number of judges from the panel.
According to article 521 paragraph 3, the solution found to the issues of law will
be mandatory for the solicitant court, from the day when de judgment was pronounced,
and for the other courts only from the date of its publication in the Official Bulletin of
Romania, Part I.
Practically, the function of unifying the judiciary practice will be taken over, in
our opinion, firstly by the preliminary judgment for solving certain issues of law, secondly
by the second degree appeal in the interest of the law, and only thirdly by the second
degree appeals solved by the Supreme Court, in matters of labor litigations it is
predictable that a lot of demands to the High Court of Cassation and Justice will be made
for the solution of certain issues of law concerning the application of the dense labor
legislation.

10. Conclusions
The entry into force of the New Code of Civil Procedure will produce important
transformations in the solving of labor litigations.
Theoretically we should expect the shortening of the duration of labor litigations,
a unification of the judiciary practice by the means of the preliminary judgments for the
solving of certain issues of law pronounced by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.
The setting up of a unique devolutive means of appeal, respectively the first
degree appeal, will also lead to the shortening of the litigations, thus avoiding cassations
with resending to the anterior court, pronounced under the present legislation by the
second appeal courts.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Onica-Chipea, Lavinia, Regimul juridic al conflictelor individuale de munca, (The
Individual Regime of Individual Work Conflicts), Universul Juridic Publishing
tefnescu, Ion Traian, Tratat de dreptul muncii (Labor Law Treatise), 2nd Edition,
Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2012;
Ticlea, Alexandru, Tratat de dreptul muncii (Treatise on Labor Law), Universul
JuridicPublishing House, Bucharest, 2011;
Ursua, Mircea, Sinteza noutilor Codului de procedur civil in Prezentare
Comparativa Noul Cod de Procedura Penala si Codul Anterior (Synthesis of the
novelties of the Civil Procedure Code in Comparative Presentation The New Civil
Procedure Code and the Anterior Code), Universul JuridicPublishing House,
Bucarest, 2012;
Idem,Scurt comentariu cu privire la implicatiile practice ale Deciziei no. 500/2012 a
Curii Constituionale (Short Commentary on the practical implications of Decision
no. 500/2012 of the Constitutional Court) in Pandectele Sptmnale no. 22/2012.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN LABOR LAW

Cristian MIHE
*

Abstract: In the last years, following the predisposition to criminalize more and more
infringements of the law, there was a certain development of a significant partition of
criminal law, called by scholars labor criminal law. The paper tries to present and
analyze the offences stipulated by Romanian Labor Code, taking into consideration also
the last changes in this field. Was the reform of this code enough in this area of interest or
not? Do we need to criminalize more infringements of the law or we should decrease the
number of these offenses?

Keywords: criminal responsibility, labor law, penal law, offences

Introduction
Labor Law in Romania in the last period of time has known an expansion of
regulations. The complexity of labor relations that constitute the core of this matter
inevitably led to exchanges and proximity to other branches of law. If 25 years ago labor
was almost automatically included in public law, now he migrated towards private law.
However, the state has retained a right major intervention in this area. Practical
manifestation of Private Law is restricted by a framework imposed through a number of
mandatory rules that require both employers and employees to act within these limits.The
doctrine spoke of maintaining, at least in part, the belonging to public law, at least in
terms of health and safety at work matters, misdemeanors and offenses committed in
direct link to labor relations. Legal liability in Labor Law can be divided in forms of
patrimonial responsibility, liability misdemeanors, and criminal liability.
The specific aspect to labor relations, especially the position of the two parts of
the employment contract determines this imperative State intervention in certain areas of
employment law. Between the two co-contracting parties there is only virtually equal
force, many laws speak using the term "subordinate employment" or "dependent worker".
In this context, the legislator felt the need to reformulate and to add contents of
crimes stipulated in the Labor Code, while "learning" from years of experience as this

*
Associate professor, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Oradea, Romania, e-mail: cmihes@gmail.com
Cristian MIHE

266
code was in force. In the beginning, at initial moment of his adoption, there were
criticisms that it contains too many rights of employees and not enough leverage action of
employers, meanwhile the situation has changed to some extent.
The number of facts stipulated by the Labor Code as offenses is higher and the
text of criminalization provisions was adapted to this circumstance. Also, one should not
lose sight of the large number of special laws related labor relations, which do have
provisions which criminalize other felonies in labor relations
1
.
This circumstance shows the eagerness of the legislator to criminalize the offenses
as many facts. In this way you can get an "inflation" of criminal provisions; more and
more infringements of the law are classified both as crimes and misdemeanors
2
. Thus,
criminal law that should be incident only because of high social risk can be applied in the
case of conducts which would be more appropriate to fight against by other forms of
liability (civil or misdemeanor) to restore the rule of law. In fact, the Labour Code
offenses are only a small fraction of the offenses as crimes by other laws. The number of
crimes in the area of labor relations is extremely high and, however, these types of actions
were analyzed by doctrine than last time
3
.
In this context, analyzing the Criminal Code, we can identify the offenses below
(their text of refers expressly to criminalize relationships or duties):
a) Art. 2031 - Sexual harassment
4

b) Art. 215 ind 1 Embezzlement
c) Chapter I of Title VI - art. 246-250 are criminalizing various forms of abuse and
neglect in duties, in relation to art. 258 Criminal Code
d) Art. 263 -Judicial organ failure notification
e) Chapter III of Title VI - Offenses against traffic safety on the railways - art. 273 to
277
f) Article 289 Forgery
g) Article 298 - Economic disclosing secrets

Regarding the most specific form of liability in Labor Law, and its relation to
Criminal Law, disciplinary sanctions can be enforced only after the criminal matters were
clarified. In certain cases criminal liability, once triggered, will cause the suspension of
the employment contract of the employee concerned, the criminal aspectof the act having

1
Ovidiu Tinca, Valentin Mirian, Infraciuni privind relaiile de munc, Lumina Lex, Bcureti, 2001; Radu
Rzvan Popescu, Drept penal al muncii (Labor Criminal Law), Wolters Kluwer Publishing House, Bucureti,
2008; Eugen Ioan Dan, Dreptul penal al muncii. Evoluia acestuia n Romnia,http://revcurentjur.ro
/arhiva/attachments_201004/recjurid104_9FR.pdf (last visit: 03.02.2013); Constantin Tufan, Rspunderea
penal n dreptul muncii, in Revista Romn de Dreptul Muncii, no. 1/2004, p. 85 - 104
2
In fact, this problem of multiplying criminal laws is considered inappropriate in criminal law doctrine. It was
argued that the principle of minimum intervention (ultima ratio) is established implicitly by the provisions of
art. 53 of the Romanian Constitution Viorel Paca, Excesul de reglementare penal i consecinele sale n
volumul Studii de Drept penal, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011, p. 277 - 282; Florin
Streteanu, Tratat de drept penal. Partea general, vol. I, C.H.Beck Publishing House, Bucharest, 2008, 48 -
52
3
Alexandru Ticlea, Tratat de dreptul muncii, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011, p. 927
929
4
Although differing views on the extension criminalization of harassment committed in connection with labor
relations and other forms of harassment, not just sexual, the pressure burden has not happened so far. About
workplace bullying: Liviu Filip, Lucian Pavel, Despre hruirea moral la locul de munc, in Revista
Romn de Dreptul Muncii, nr. 4/2005, p. 88 91; Camelia Bogdan, Reglementarea mobbingului n
legislaia penal romn, in Revista de Drept Penal, Anul XV, no. 1/2008, p. 88 91.
Criminal Liability in Labor Law

267
priority. Legal provisions infer that the employer's disciplinary prerogative activation
occur safter solving the criminal.The criminal law proceedings will "hold back civil law
procedingsinthis area.
In other line of thoughts, there is the problem of the penal liability of the legal
entities related to labor law provisions. The problem of criminalliability of legal persons
was addressed in juridical doctrine, and gave the authors the opportunity to indicate some
specific problems of this institution
5
. Among these, an issue that interests labor relations is
what if the material author of the crime is an employee of the legal entity? Presently it is
still not sufficiently well established the link between the crime and the individual legal
entity" in achieving the object of activity or interest or the legal person".
Tax evasion, bribery or deception would be retained solely for the administrator,
accountant or other person or they would attract criminal liability company? Hitting or
injury made during an intervention agent and security companies attract criminal liability
company security? Involuntary mans laughter following a road accident, committed while
the author was on duty (possibly professional drivers) does activate the employer's
criminal liability? Failure to execute a judgment on wages or reinstatement of an
employee at work, automatically lead to criminal liability of the company?
Another aspect not regulated completely is the effect of the complementary
sanctions. Neither the criminal law, nor the Labor code does regulate the situation of the
employees when the legal entity was dissolved, or when its activity was totally or partially
suspended, or in case of closing one ore more of legal entitys places of work
6
.
Should these employees be re-asigned to other places of work within the activity
of the legal entity or their employment contract should cease since their place of work is
terminated? Who will pay them during suspension of the activity by court decision as an
additional penalty
7
?

Few practical issues of present offences in Romanian Labor Code
We do not intend to present an exhaustive analysis of the offences stipulated in the
Romanian Labor Code, but to highlight different aspects that do have important impact in
understanding of these provisions. As concerning the sanctions one can see that the
legislator stipulated alternative sanctions imprisonment or a fine
8
.
Presently there are six articles included in the Labor Code regulating this matter,
as follows:

5
Florin Streteanu, Radu Chiri, Rspunderea penal a persoanei juridice, 2
nd
edition, C.H. Beck Publishing
House,Bucharest, 2007, p. 390 - 437;
6
Cristian Mihe, Observaii privind unele modificri aduse Codului penal prin Legea nr. 278/2006.
Sanciunile penale aplicabile persoanei juridice in Pandectele Romne, supliment-2007, p. 374-375
7
In our opinion, in case o dissolving the legal entity or closing downs one ore more of its working places the
employment contracts will cease since the positions will cease to exist. In case of suspending the activity, the
problem is more delicate, but also in this case the employment contracts could be terminated if the legal entity
will not pay its employees based on non observance of the employers important obligations as required by
Labor Code.
8
According to article 63 Criminal Code, when ever the law provides that an offense punishable by fine
without you showing limits specially Its minimum is 1,000 USD, and the special maximum of 4,000 lei. In
case of application of mitigating or aggravating causes of punishment, penalty can not exceed the general
limits shown in art.53 section 1 lit. b) Criminal Code (from 500 lei to 5.000 lei).
Cristian MIHE

268
a)Failure to execute a final judgment to make the wages payment within 15 days after
the request for execution is an offense punishable by imprisonment for 3 to 6 months
or a fine (article 261);
b) Failure to execute a final judgment on the reinstating into work of an employee is a
criminal offense punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to one year or with fine
(article 262).
Related to these first two offences there is in article 263 a provision that gives
only to the injured party the right to decide whether she will start the criminal action
against the defendant. The offenses referred to in art. 261 and 262 Criminal proceedings
shall be initiated only at the request of the injured party. On the other hand, reconciliation
of parties removes criminal liability.
This special provision activates another provision from Romanian Criminal
Procedure Code article 284 that requires the injured party to be diligent. In this respect,
the injured party has to press charges (the criminal complaint) in two months since the
moment he learned about the identity of the perpetrator. There could be a problem in
calculating this precise interval as regarding the moment when it starts. According to the
article 274 in Labor Code, the decision of the court in labor litigation is mandatory to be
put in practice by both parties, although this decision can be challenged in appeal. This
means that the plaintiff has to be reinstated in his former positions at once, immediately
after the decision was passed. Only, article 261 from the Labor Code gives the employer
the opportunity to pay the wages to his former employee within 15 days calculated from
the moment when the former employee requested this payment.
The legislator wanted to give to the former employee the decision how to proceed
in getting back his position or his wages, although it might appear that this articles
represent the counter measures of effectiveness fighting illegal termination of labor
contracts, or non-respecting the salary rights. Furthermore giving the second paragraph of
article 263 the former employee has also the right to terminate criminal proceeding simply
by reconciliation with the other party.
c)First paragraph of article 264 criminalizes act of a person who, repeatedly
established for employees, employed under individual employment contract, wages
below the guaranteed minimum wage payment, as prescribed by law.
The guaranteed minimum wage is stipulated in Government decision and it is
related to the government policy at one moment. All employers must observe this
minimum level of payment. The problem that could arise here could related to the
expression repeatedly and establishing wages.
How many times must the employer pay his employees below the guaranteed
minimum wage? The act of non-observing the provisions related to payment of minimum
guaranteed wage as prescribed by law is sanctioned as misdemeanor according to the
article 260 paragraph 1/a from Labor Code. In our opinion there should be a number of
misdemeanor according to the article 260 paragraph 1/a from Labor Code determined by
labor inspection at least 2 or by others means of proof, in order to activate the criminal
liability for this kind of deeds, either for the same persons or in case of different persons
employed.
When is this crime committed when concluding the individual employment
contract or when paying the salary? Since the law spoke of establishing wages it is
correct to assume that the moment is when concluding the individual employment
contract.

269
d) The second paragraph of article 264 criminalizes the offense consisting of not
allowing the access of labor inspectors in the employers units, according to the law,
or repeated refusal to making available to them the documents required by law.
The labor inspectors do have the right to inspect the place of work and all the
places that belong to the employer, in order to check the working environment. In practice
many employers faced sanctions because they considered this matter to be very delicate,
invoking the constitutional right of protection the private space. Most of the courts
decided that labor inspectors do have the right to enter the perimeter, because they are
acting in order of safeguarding the rights of the employees.
e) The last paragraph of article 264 criminalizes the offense of receiving to work more
than 5 persons, whatever their nationality, without concluding an individual
employment contract.
Specific to this offense is the number of the injured parties that has to be at least 6.
If there are not six persons, then this infringement of the law is sanctioned as
misdemeanor in article 260 paragraph 1/e from Labor Code. It should be mentioned that
the employer has the obligation of concluding the individual employment contract, in
righting ad validitatem, and to register it, according to article 16 from Labor Code,
before the person start to work. The provisions of this article will have to be combined to
the provisions of the following article, as regarding an aggravating form of the offense and
additional penalties that the perpetrator can or must face. In the last years the Government
policy was to target to minimize the black work.
f) Article 265 form Labor Code sanctions the employment of minors in violation of
the legal age or using them in activities in violation of legal provisions relating to the
employment of minors.
Under the Labor Code there are certain limits concerning the minors when they
are working as employees: they have to be at least 15 years old and they cannot be used in
certain activities (ex. they cannot work in hard, dangerous or harmful working places
9
,
they cannot work night hours).
The general limit of age 15 years does not apply in certain particular cases the
age limit is higher and it must be observed by the employer
10
, for example:
In case of administrators under the Law no 22 from 1969 the limit to be employed is
21 years old
In case of truck and bus drivers (professional drivers) under the Traffic Code as
modified by Law 203 from 2012 the age limit is: 21 yearsfor vehicle categoriesC,
CE, D1andD1E; and 24 yearsfor vehicle categoriesD, DE
Regarding the next paragraph, it is stipulated as offense receiving the work of a
person who stays illegally in Romania, knowing that it is a victim of persons trafficking.
The passive subject of this offense is the person who has no residence or working
permit in Romania and he is a victim of trafficking. The employers liability is not
removed if he hires the person based on an individual employment contract if it will be
proved that he knew that that person is a victim of trafficking.
An aggravating form is stipulated in the next paragraph if the work performed by
the person referred to in article art. 264 paragraph (3) and 265 paragraph (2) is likely to
endanger his life, integrity or health. Here there is no need for immediate consequence,

9
These working places are established by Government decision according to article 13 paragraph 5 from the
Labor Code.
10
Radu Popescu, ncadrarea n munc a minorilor in Revista Romn de Dreptul Muncii, nr. 2/2008, p. 98
Cristian MIHE

270
but for creating a state of danger regarding the life, integrity or health of the person
performing the work.
Looking at the legal text, one can notice immediately the legislator intent to fight
in an effective manner the black work and illegal using of persons for labor
exploitation. This is the reason why there are stipulated mandatory or facultative
complementary sanctions.
In case of committing any of the offenses referred to in article 265 paragraphs (2)
and (3) and art. 264 paragraph (3) the court may order that one of the following
additional penalties:
a) total or partial loss of the employer's right to receive benefits, aid or subsidies,
including EU funding managed by the Romanian authorities for a period of up to
five years;
b) prohibit employer's right to participate in the award of a public contract for a
period up to 5 years;
c) full or partial recovery benefits, aid or subsidies, including EU funding
managed by the Romanian authorities granted to the employer for a period of up
to 12 months before the offense;
d) temporary or permanent closure of the point or points does the offense or final
or temporary withdrawal of a license to conduct the business activity in question,
if this is justified by the gravity of the infringement.
In case of committing any of the offenses referred to in article 265 paragraphs (2)
and (3) and art. 264 paragraph (3) the employer shall be obliged to pay the amounts
of:
a) any outstanding remuneration due to persons employed illegally. Amount of
remuneration is assumed to be equal to the average gross wage in the economy,
unless either the employer or the employee can prove otherwise;
b) the amount of all taxes and social security contributions that the employer
would have paid if the person had been legally employed, including default
interest and relevant administrative fines;
c) the costs of transfer payments to the country illegally employed person has
returned or was returned to the law.
In case of committing any of the offenses referred to article 265 paragraphs (2) and
(3) and art. 264 paragraph (3) by a subcontractor, the main contractor and any
intermediate subcontractor, where they knew that the employing subcontractor
employed foreigners staying illegally in Romania, they may be required by the
court, jointly with the employer or in place contractor or subcontractor employee
whose employer is a direct subcontractor to pay sums of money referred to in article
265 paragraphs (5) letter a) and c).
These legal texts give another opportunity to underline once again a link between
labor law and criminal law. Trafficking of labor force is one of the forms of human
trafficking and it is often encountered within low status population that is looking for
earning their means of living. Human trafficking with the purpose of labor force
exploitation grew in the last years of global crisis, speculation the need for money on
behalf of the victims and the need/greed of the beneficiaries of this labor force. It is to be
highlighted also the cross border and international aspects are here very often present.
In this line of thoughts, we think that this will be one of the areas that will belong
also to the Labor criminal law as it will evolve in the next years. Without fighting labor

271
force trafficking with criminal law institution and labor law methods, the cross-border and
international labor force trafficking will take over at least the European economies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dan, E. I., Dreptul penal al muncii. Evoluia acestuia n Romnia, http://revcurentjur.ro/
arhiva/attachments_201004/recjurid104_9FR.pdf, last visit: 03.02.2013;
Mihe, C., Observaii privind unele modificri aduse Codului penal prinLegea nr.
278/2006. Sanciunile penale aplicabile persoanei juridice in Pandectele Romne,
supliment-2007;
Popescu, R. R., Drept penal al muncii (Labor Criminal Law), Wolters Kluwer Publishing
Popescu, R., ncadrarea n munc a minorilor in Revista Romn de DreptulMuncii, no.
2/2008;
Streteanu, F.; Chiri, R., Rspunderea penal a persoanei juridice, second edition, C.H.
Beck Publishing House, Bucharest 2007;
Ticlea, A., Tratat de dreptul muncii, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2011;
Tinca, O.; Mirian, V., Infraciuni privind relaiile de munc, Lumina Lex Publishing
Tufan, C., Rspunderea penal n dreptul muncii in Revista Romn de Dreptul Muncii,
no. 1/2004.
The Criminal Code
The Labor Code

BORDER REGIONS AND INTEGRATION:
MULTICULTURALISM AND INTEGRATION WITHIN
BORDER REGIONS, MIGRANT WORK FORCES

Maha KATAMI
*

Abstract: Borders have been always had a significant role in any countrys history and
development process due to the evidential function it play in developing trade , decrease
unemployment on one hand and protecting countries on the other hand and this is for both
interior borders and external one as well .Taking Middle East as Border Region to
Europe and looking throughout history of Middle East Region it is noticed that internal
borders within its countries have almost remained the same during last centuries during
which a number of unions between various Arab Countries were established that
facilitated cooperation and movement between its countries but for some reason or other
these unions did not last , The most remarkable one which is still valid is The Gulf Union .
Members of Gulf Union and their inhabitants obtain privilege of being citizens of these
countries which facilitates movement within Gulf Area, Trade, Employment and
cooperation in many fields thus borders here are no a barrier anymore and member
countries benefit from multicultural lifestyles and values in enriching their owns .This
Union introduced its members as one united area to other countries. While on the other
hand other middle eastern countries and their inhabitants lack these privileges of unions
and so borders are barrier for them especially for work forces and trade though many
facilitation are now provided but yet issue of entry permission and work permit might
resemble in some situations an obstacle for them which might reflect negatively on trade
levels, economical growth and unemployment rates especially because for Arab Middle
Eastern Work Forces who are interested in Gulf Area which resembles for them; a place
for valuable work opportunities, besides integration and interacting into these
communities for Arab Middle Eastern nationals is easier because of common languages
and culture. Looking into Europe one can find that some geographical borders changed
specially new geographical borders emerged where its inhabitants are interested in some

*
B.A Degree in Modern Languages (German and English), University of Jordan, Amman, Humanitarian
Affairs and Assistance (IOM and UNHCR), e-mail: mahakatami @gmail.com
The Design, Implementation and Material included within this article do not imply the expression of any
opinion whatsoever with or against any party mentioned or not mentioned in the article. This means that no
justification or critics against or with any party or incident whatsoever. The Article Material is a combination
and summary of mentioned references.
Maha KATAMI

274
European Union countries e.g. Germany, France, Spain, Italy etc. as they are well
developed countries that offer excellent opportunities to its people thus it is remarkably
noticed that many people are approaching these countries to increase their income,
education and medical services .Other Countries within Europe is also motivated to enroll
within European Union. Reason behind movement, Entry and Residency Permit and in the
Hosting Country, Working Condition in the Host County and Resources in the Host
country, Migrants Profiles and Situation in home country all plays a significant role in
identifying Migrant Worker Situation and Profile, also assist both Country of Origin,
Migrant and Host Country in benefiting the most from this migration movement. Taking
about Reason behind Movement, Situation in both Country of Origin and Host Country,
one need to distinguish between Peace and Conflict times, i.e People fleeing because of
Conflict in Host County or for Economical Reasons during peace times. It is also
significant to highlight Age and Gender Roles and the impact they have on migrant, the
family, Country of origin and host country and the role they play in formalizing trend. It
should be noted that whether the Migrant Worker crossed through the regular paths or
irregular paths he /she ensiled for the protection and should receive adequate Human
Rights and he/she has obligations meanwhile.

Keywords: economic migrants, forced migration, cultural richness, foreign labor status,
migrant work forces Middle East

Frontier Worker: Under European Union Regulations Frontier Worker can be
defined as someone who lives in one member state and works in another, returning home
at least once a week. In Middle East it is more linked with Migrant Workers, thus is not
necessary for them to return to their countries of origin on weekly basis even yearly,
definition even includes those who stay working in the host country for years in addition
to the ones coming during conflicts and then seek better economical opportunities .but
common thing that they do not have nationality of host country.
The United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights if All Migrant
Workers and Mmebers of their families define the term "migrant worker": a person who is
engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not
a national.
In this paper migrants here are ones who are staying in host country, who are not
included in citizenship process.
Borders have always had a significant role in any countrys history and
development process due to the evidential function it plays in trade, employment and
countrys security. This is for both interior borders inside country and external ones.
Border Regions is a developed area due to its role in trade and movement thus it is
noticed the highest percentage of workforce movement is within border regions and not
inside ones.
Meanwhile there are other invisible borders that put restrictions on people
movement gap in culture and discrimination which might be inside one country.
Migrant workers whether they arrived their host country through regular paths or
irregular ones, whether they avail themselves to the host country or not are still in need for
protection and entitled to certain rights as well as obligations. Though migrant workers
with official/legal status in the host country are entitled to more rights / extra entitlements
but basic human rights should be respected for both.
Border Regions and Integration: Multiculturalism and Integration within Border Regions...

275
Below are some of the international conventions and agreements dealing with
migrant workers:
- 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families (ICRMW);
- ILO Migration for Employment Convention, 1949 (C-97);
- ILO Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (C-143).
There are many reasons which motivate people to leave their country and seek
work in other countries but also peace and conflict plays a signification factor in this
movement i.e:
Peace:
During peace and non-conflict times people leave their countries seeking work in
other neighboring or no-neighboring countries to increase their income and working
conditions and to support their families.
The Profile of the migrant worker varies (male, female coming with families or as
singles) this depends on:
- Culture and working conditions of country of origin;
- Culture and working conditions of host country;
- Income in the host country;
- Method the migrant worker used to cross host country (regular, irregular paths)
whether Migrant worker avail himself/herself to the Host Country or not.
If the situation in the country of origin is stable and safe, then one may say that
handworkers working as domestic workers, nursery, construction etc. and because do not
bring their families with them particularly the ones crossing through irregular paths and
not availing themselves to the host country.
The country of origin culture and host country culture play a role in determining
movement of female work forces as singles (female coming to work without family).
Below are some of the motivations that are behind involvement:
1- Economical Reason where husband/ family income is not sufficient;
2 - Cultural Reasons as in some cultures the female should work and support the family
3 - Change in family structure where the female finds herself obliged to seek job both
inside and outside her country.
Movement of females to work may assist her to obtain more freedom and
independence but meanwhile especially when moving without family laving partners and
children behind this might affect relationships between her and her family members.
During conflict :Conflict motivates people to leave their countries seeking safety
and better ecumenical conditions in the host country ,and in the majority of cases the most
near stable country .
Conflicts does not only affect the security and safety levels in a country but also
econimcal siatsution thus it can notice that when people seek safety and security in X
country they also seek work opportunities to secure an income for themselves.
Comparison between migrants during peace and migrants during conflict:
Peace:
During peaceful times people move seeking work opportunities or investment
using both regular and irregular pathways. They are coming with intention to work and
usually have the choice to return to their home countries:
- Movement: for migrants moving during peace seeking work opportunities, the border
country or region is not necessary to be their choice (place to move ), people in this
case move to places where they can find jobs;
Maha KATAMI

276
- Profile (age, gender, family structure / marital structure and status): during peace,
majority are youth people and as mentioned above; issue of gender depends on the
situation and culture of both country of origin and host country;
- Family status: usually for domestic worker, hand workers etc. migrant worker arrive
as single to save as much money as possible, while professionals tend more to re-unit
with their families.
Reason for movement is their choice as well as they country they are moving into:

Conflict
During conflict people are moving as families, singles, females, female headed,
household, youth and elderly, using both regular and irregular paths. They seek the nearest
safe place as in many cases it is the only option available to them.These arrivals might
later be considered as refugees and might be included within Integration Program, as
Integration considered one of durable solutions for refugees. Because of safety and
security lack, massive flow in these new arrivals numbers might resemble a stress on
countrys resources.
As these arrivals who flee are in need for assistance and they need their time to
turn from vulnerable to an added ones to the host community who might be sometimes
reluctant to receive them.
These new arrivals are more keen to accept low salary and wages and work within
hard working conditions to earn an income.
Below is a quick Comparison.

Migrant worker (advantages and disadvantages):
- Advantages:
A - Employment and Income Resources;
B - Building new Relations with New People;
C - Sometimes acquiring a new languages and learn about new culture;
D - Acquiring new skills.
- Disadvantages:
A - Might not be accepted by host community;
B Exploitation. Examples of these exploitation: hard working conditions with
inadequate working income, sometimes family separation, sometimes feeling
of isolation and discrimination in the host country.

Country of Origin (advantages and disadvantages):
- Advantages:
A- Money transaction which can assist in developing economical status;
B- Return Migrants come with new ideas and technology;
C- Decrease population pressure on services and unemployment rates;
D- Building new relations through transitional communities;
E- Additional source of income for Communication (Internet-Telephone) and travel
agencies firms.
- Disadvantages:
A- Loosing skills and youth powers who move seeking other opportunities;
B- Increase inequality;
C- Sudden Return and complication it might create.


277
Host country and Community (advantages and disadvantages):
- Advantages:
A- Additional source of income for communication (internet-telephone) and travel
agencies firms;
B- Multicultural life;
C- Cheaper work forces;
D- Skilled work forces;
E- Diversity in markets;
F- Brain grain;
G- Tax income for these workers.
- Disadvantages
A- Pressure on Countries Resources;
B- Competition in the market might result in host community reluctance for these
workers;
C- Crowded schools;
D- Dependence on foreign labor for certain jobs;
E-Cost of integration programs and social welfare programs.

Exploitation:
Migrant workers especially the ones arriving through irregular paths or the ones
who do not avail themselves to the host country are more potential to be exploited:
-Migrant might be afraid to avail himself /herself to the host country for various
reason thus employer might exploit this and oblige migrant worker to work within
hard loving condition;
-Lack of supervision over employer by state;
-Lack of adequate rules and legislation;
-Unawareness of reporting methods for exploitation, unawareness of migrant woker
rights by migrant worker;
-The Working Conditions in the contract are not clear;
-Financial need and fear of reporting.

Integration:
Integration: The act of amalgamating a racial or religious group with an existing
community and become a unified one, therefore; Language, Ethnic, Education, Religion,
Sex , Sex Orientation, Economical Status, Marital Status and culture are basic factors that
should be considered in any integration process. It is one of the durable solutions for
refugees to integrate in the host community
Thus, it is worth highlighting the importance of successful integration plans in
order for this migrant worker to be an added value rather than burden to the host
community. What can be an asset in this regard is common language, cultural, beliefs etc.
For professionals who approached host country as professionals or students
obtaining work opportunities it is more easier for them to be accepted by community and
increase their income. Generally they are less to be exploited, as they are aware of rules
and regulations.
Putting high resection on Mmigrant workers entry and work permit may lead these
migrants to cross borders through irregular paths or not availing themselves to host
country especially for hand workers or people coming to seek work opportunities without
Maha KATAMI

278
any prior contract . Thus a balanced system will assist in protecting migrant worker and
host country and host community and its resources.
In many places it is noticed that new frontier and migrant workers tend to form
their communities inside the host ones which is good for introducing a new culture to new
communities, decrease feeling of isolation by some migrant workers.
Taking Middle East as Border Region to Europe and looking through the history
of Middle East Region it is remarkably noticed that internal borders within its countries
have almost remained the same during last century which witnessed a number of various
Arab unions that facilitated cooperation and movement between these countries ,though
these unions did not last but this did not affect these countries as historical borders
remained the same and these countries has always share same cultures and values. Thus
movement for work opportunities within Arab Countries can be easily analyzed and
divided as follows (these are general examples):
A- Gulf Area attracts majority of Arab citizens during both peace and conflict
including both domestic and factory workers, skilled workers (professionals) and
scientists (university professors as well this is because of economical benefits and
opportunists they receive there besides these countries are becoming a
multicultural ones and these are attracting citizens of EU, Far East, America etc.;
B- Other Like: Jordan, Lebanon..etc: also attracts workers particularly domestic and
factory workers mainly from Egypt, Sri-Lanka, Philippians, Bangladesh etc. and
now Syrians as many of Syrians who are fleeing seeking safety are looking for
work opportunities;
C- Other like: Tunis, Libya, Egypt etc. (before events): attracts people mainly from
Africa and sometimes foreign investments because of relations and good
investment opportunities.
The most remarkable one in Arab Region which is still alive is the Gulf Union
where members of this Union obtain different privileges of free movement within Gulf
Area, Trade, Employment and cooperation in many fields thus borders here resemble no
barriers anymore and member countries benefit from multicultural lifestyles and values in
enriching their own This Union introduced its members as one united area to other
countries.
While on the other hand other middle eastern countries and their inhabitants lack
the privileges of these unions and so borders might be barrier for them in particular for
work forces and trade, though many facilitation and agreements are signed but yet issue of
entry permission and work permit remain might in some situation be an obstacle for them
which reflects negatively on economical growth and unemployment rates where Arab
Middle Eastern Work Forces are more interested in Gulf Area as a place for valuable work
opportunities, besides integration into these communities for Arab Middle Eastern citizens
due to common culture is easier.
Looking into Europe one can find that borders witnessed changes specially after
fall of some unions during 20 century unions where some citizens are more interested
western European countries e.g. Germany, France Spain, Italy etc. which are considered to
be immigrant countries as they are more well developed and offer better opportunities thus
it is remarkably noticed that many people are approaching these countries to increase their
income, education and medical services. Besides some countries are working to enroll
within European Union.
Since beginning of the 20
th
century the North Africans started to move to Western
European Countries in increasing numbers, the increase in flows assisted in developing

279
movement and mobility laws which are essential for any frontier worker even some
countries are considered as Francophone countries which assist them in their relation with
Europe.
There are good practices of programs attracting qualified skilled work forces that
facilitate movement of these force such as Braid Drain but meanwhile entry permit in
some countries especially during conflicts might resemble a problem for migrants thus
they tend to go for irregular paths and hide themselves from host country , sometimes they
can easily legalize their status and sometimes it is not easy ,on other hand they might be
aware of right way to correct their status as they are not getting right advice which might
reflect negatively on their working condition.
Regulated and Balanced Entry and Work Permit policy contribute to have control
on new arrivals and preparing programs for these arrivals so they won't be exploited by
employers or fake and fraud contact.
Have control over the market and avoid unnecessarily negative competition between host
community and new arrivals.
For the new arrival to now in advance what they are going to face particularly for
domestic, hand workers.
Problems which might face migrant worker can be in family reunification, living
expenses which might seem high for new arrivals whose aim is to save money in addition
to social security and pension for many arrivals especially domestic and handworkers.
This can be because:
A - New arrivals aim is to save money as they are not citizens and a number of
them have their financial obligations in their country of origin;
B - Expense of living pension, social security and medical insurance (though it is
for new arrival benefit) might seem high for new arrivals in comparison with their
country of origin.
Will give an example about Jordan who hosts a number of multicultural arrivals:
Total net migration (not holding a Jordanian National Number) is 33.42 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2012 est.)

1 - Armenians, Chechen, Circassians - Obtained Jordanian Nationality
They arrived in Jordan during -the 19
th
and 20
th
century because of violence and
they settled in Amman and its suburbs they seem to be about 4-5% of the entire
population. They obtained Jordanian Nationality and were able to melt in Jordanian
Community .They have a reserved percentage in Parliament and hold significant positions
in military as well as other position in economic, social cultural environment.
Many of them still speak their mother language as well as Arabic, keeping their
traditions and heritage and are able to present it through various cultural festivals and
centers which are an essential part of any integration process (Melting into new
community without forgetting identity)

2 - Egyptians, African and Asian (Ethiopian, Sri-Lanka, Indian, Philippians)
do not have Jordanian Nationality
They started to arrive Jordan during mid of 20
th
century because of economic
reasons most of them are hand and domestic workers.(Not Holding Jordanian Nationality )
They arrived to Jordan with prior intention to work and need working permit in
order to be able to work.
Maha KATAMI

280
They have access to different facilities and can enroll within public health services
paying small fees.
The Local community along with nationals laws are encouraging them to report
any exploitation done by employer.
Some neighborhoods in Jordan are called by their names .i.e. Egyptian
Neighborhood as majority of its inhabitants are Egyptians, Also Coptic church is another
good example.

3 - Palestinians Have a Jordanian Nationality
They started coming to Jordan because of the conflict and many of them managed
to get Jordanian nationality especially during Union Period between two borders (50s and
80s).
Some of them also have a Jordanian temporary passport .A significant number holds
important positions in the government and other part have major investments.
Many families have been staying in Jordan for more than 50 years.
Relationships between two are enforced through marriage, investment and
neighborhood.
They have access to different facilities, freedom of movement a like 2 above
groups.

4-Syrians does not have Jordanian Nationality
Before the events in Syria, Syrians used to approach Jordan because of economic
reason many of them managed to establish small and large scale business
Freedom of movement, access to different facilities were guaranteed though they
were not granted Jordanian nationality .During events especially the ones residing in
neighboring cities started to approach Jordan seeking safety and their great number began
to be a pressure on national limited resources of water and electricity.
The government established a Refugee Camp for them providing them with food,
water, electricity, education and accommodation for free in coordination with international
organization and did not close borders. Yet they have the right to live outside Camp and
can benefit from public health and education services for free besides work opportunities.
Many of them because of blood relations and being a neighboring country have
relationships with host community which facilitates for them life in Jordan

BIBLIOGRAPHY

European Parliament, www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en;
Global Migration Group, www.globalmigrationgroup.org;
ILO Publication (online version), http://www.ilo.org/public/portugue/region/eurpro/
lisbon/pdf/;
Social Science Jordanian School Curriculum;
The Global Campaign for Ratification of the Convention on Rights of Migrants,
http://www.migrantsrights.org/documents/SCRatificationGuideJune2012_000.pdf;

281
The Borderwise Project, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:
http://www.borderwise.ie/;
UNESCO Information Kit Migrant Worker, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images
/0014/001435/143557e.pdf;
UNHCR, http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx.

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Professor, PhD., Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest, e-mail: claudia-ana.costea@drept.unibuc.ro

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