A day dedicated to local products

CESCI, together with the Mura Region EGTC and the Pannon EGTC, organised a professional event on the cross-border trade of local products in Lenti on 30 May 2023, with the support of the Association of European Border Regions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. During the one-day event, in addition to the theoretical and practical presentations, the participants had the opportunity to visit some of the developments in the border region.

The morning session was moderated by Melinda Benczi, International Relations Coordinator of CESCI, who opened the event. In her speech she said that local products are not only about locally produced goods, but also about cross-border community building, ensuring sustainability and that people living in border regions have access to healthy and fresh products. Then, in his welcome speech, Dr. Attila Pál, President of the General Assembly of Zala County, outlined all the developments and development potentials that have been implemented in the county recently.

Afterwards, Slaven Klobučar, Policy Officer of the European Committee of the Regions, welcomed the audience in Croatian language, stressing that border regions, as laboratories of cooperation, offer an excellent opportunity to find efficient solutions for creating short supply chains. Then, Péter Kiss-Parciu, Deputy Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, highlighted the fact that local organisations, and especially European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), can play a key role in achieving this goal. After that, Martín Guillermo-Ramírez, Secretary General of the Association of European Border Regions, welcomed the participants and said that although there are still many legal and administrative obstacles to the cross-border marketing of local products, there are tools, such as the B-solutions initiative, to overcome these barriers.

During the morning session, the experts’ presentations focused on providing support for cross-border trade among local producers. First, Mihael Ruzić, Manager of the Mura-Drava LEADER LAG in Croatia, talked about the local products of the Lower Mura region. He stressed that although many small producers on the Croatian side produce a good quality secondary product, trade is problematic, as most producers lack the capacity to explore the complicated legal background. Then, Zoltán Pál, President of the Green Heart of Zala Rural Development Association, outlined the situation on the Hungarian side, saying that although there is a tradition of small-scale local production in the region, it is not so prevalent at present. This is rather unfortunate, as the development of this sector could help to retain a significant number of tourists passing through the region. One way to achieve this could be the development of a local product and trademark network, a well-functioning example of which, implemented on the Hungarian-Slovak border, was shared by Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of CESCI, in the absence of Péter Nagy, Director of Ister-Granum EGTC.

Following that, Dr. Judit Füzér, Deputy Director of the Pannon European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, presented the CrossMarkets project, implemented within the framework of the B-Solutions initiative, which examined the legal possibilities of cross-border trade of local products. Finally, Dr. Katalin Fekete, legal advisor of CESCI, closed the morning session by outlining possible solutions for the cross-border trade of local products along the Hungarian-Croatian border. The proposed solution process can be launched at the initiative of the Ministry or on the basis of a letter of intent by the mayors. Based on that, the Intergovernmental Economic Joint Committee may urge the creation of specific national legislation to ensure interoperability (registration, traceability by authorities, market operator registers, standardisation of the conditions).

After the joint lunch, the afternoon session was moderated by Kitti Dubniczki, Director of CESCI. First, Árpádné Nagy, Project Manager of Mura Region EGTC, introduced the EGTC’s wide range of projects. Then, Imre Pácsonyi, Vice-President of the Zala County Council, presented the cross-border projects of the county.

Before the participants went on a study tour by bus to visit the project sites of the border region, they were also introduced to the cross-border health services of the Thermal Hotel Balance of Lenti by Dr. Nikolett Szolnoki. She highlighted the high pressure oxygen therapy, which is only available there in all the country. During the study tour, the group visited the park and visitor centre around Lake Soderica, in Goričan. Next, they visited the boat house, the fishing lake and the cycling rest area in Tótszerdahely. Finally, in Molnári, the participants visited the water tourism docking station, picnic area and nature trail, where they also tasted the special local strudel. The event was closed by a joint dinner in Kerkaszentkirály.