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Cross-border
economic
development
45
Sectors of economic cooperation
After a period of fears in Austria about the opening-up of its borders
(free movement of workers, capital and goods), the public players
have focused on the development of cross-border synergies that
would benefit the cross-border territory as a whole. First, information
projects aimed at cross-border workers have made it possible to
limit the risks of downward wage competition in Austria, since they
have been informed about their rights and the working of the Austrian
social security system. A specific information initiative has also been
carried out regarding service-sector jobs that cannot be moved abroad.
Second, Austrian businesses are encouraged to take advantage of
their neighbours’ economic development to find export opportunities,
notably by offering innovative products with high value added (mainly
supplies to the automotive industry).
On the Slovak side, the participation of SMEs still appears a little more
difficult than on the Austrian side, but some have got involved in cross-
border R&D projects.
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Projects to promote networking among businesses
have been
financed by INTERREG, such as a directory of firms categorised
by sector across the region of Trnavá (SK) and South Moravia (CZ).
The linguistic proximity facilitates cooperation between Czechs and
Slovaks, whose languages are mutually comprehensible. Language
remains a barrier to cooperation with the other countries.
The Vienna-Bratislava axis is important for the public players in these
capital city regions, with notably reflections about public transport
provision (network of Viennese suburban trains crossing over the
border, study of Vienna airport’s rail connection and corresponding
links with Bratislava airport). Nonetheless, there is still a lot of room for
strengthening cooperation.
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In parallel with this axis, the regions of Lower Austria and Trnavá
have developed with their chambers of commerce
a project called
“DUO**STARS”
, which makes it possible to better organise joint
public action around economic development and links between
businesses, research and innovation in networks that enable
the sharing of expertise in activities with high value added. Joint
promotion of these territories internationally is also a declared
objective of this cooperation.
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On the larger scale of the four countries of this area,
the
Centrope Region has developed cooperation projects around
universities, research centres and companies
in the fields of
biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, environmental technologies
and renewable energies, in order to facilitate technology transfer
and R&D (the “Centrope_tt” project).
The “dual training” that exists in the four countries does not yet have
a cross-border dimension (issue of language and competition in the
recruitment of young people in training), but the question is being
looked at, with Austrian players in particular providing the impetus.
Partnerships between universities are gradually emerging, mainly linked
to the needs of businesses (training, R&D, innovation and technology
transfer), as mentioned above.
The Danube in Bratislava
© PHBCZ