Cross-border policies on employment and entrepreneurship are fundamental to the implementation of one of the freedoms that EU nationals enjoy, that of free movement of workers. In 2022, approximately 1,8 million workers in EU and EFTA countries resided in one Member State and worked in another [1]. Cross-border work can encourage economic growth and cohesion in border regions which cover approximately 40% of EU territory, and can contribute to their transformation into significant industry and service hubs from peripheral areas. 

WHAT

In the Romania-Hungary border region, entrepreneurial and employment policies on both sides of the border face common challenges. These include a lag in entrepreneurial skills, especially in what relates to disadvantaged groups of people, leading to reduced accessibility in the labour market and exclusion from inclusive development, despite the fact that a high level of labour supply has been identified. This indicates a serious mismatch between labour demand and supply; the challenge is to mitigate this mismatch through supporting employment growth and increase of employment skills.

The main objective of the CBC-EMPLOYMENT project was to support employment-friendly growth in three areas in Romania (Oradea, Bihor County) and Hungary (Hajdúböszörmény) through an innovative partnership for entrepreneurship development in the cross-border region. The project involved two categories of activities: i) enhancement of the accessibility of people to the labour market and ii) creation of new entrepreneurial and employment facilities. The envisaged facilities include entrepreneurship and employment centres in the three cooperating areas that enhance the cooperation between local labour market actors in order to improve labour-matching and organise cross-border employment initiatives between project partners. The enhancement of accessibility of people to the labour market is also to be achieved through the organisation of actions such as thematic training events and entrepreneurship fairs.

WHO

The CBC-EMPLOYMENT project was led by the Municipality of Oradea (Romania) with the participation of 3 more partners: Municipality of Hajdúböszörmény (Hungary), the Agency for Sustainable Development of Bihor County (Romania) and the Bihor County Employment Agency (Romania).

WHERE

The CBC-EMPLOYMENT project took place in the Romania-Hungary cross-border region and in specific the city of Oradea, Bihor County (Romania) and the city of Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdú–Bihar County (Hungary).

HOW

The overall project budget amounted to EUR 7.507.873,22, with EUR 2.549.531,05 being funded by the ERDF through the 2014 – 2020 INTERREG V-A Romania - Hungary programme.

RESULTS

The CBC-EMPLOYMENT project partners produced an impressive array of results positively affecting cross-border entrepreneurship and employment in the participating areas. In specific:

• 2 new entrepreneurial and employment facilities were built in Oradea and Hajdúböszörmény, and are used for the implementation of cross-border employment initiatives and cross-border cooperation between relevant labour market stakeholders.
• 1 mobile entrepreneurial centre was developed in Bihor County for the promotion of traditional food products from various areas of the county, consisting of 4 special food trucks promoting local producers.
• 2 Job Fairs were organised with over 1.500 participants, helping boost employment opportunities and providing a solid framework for cross-border economic development.
• 6 thematic training events, 1 Entrepreneurship Day, 1 workshop and 4 employment initiatives were organised to enhance the cooperation of local labour market actors.
• 2.570 participants were involved in joint local employment initiatives and joint training activities.