Friday 17 October 2008

Help without borders between Romania and Hungary

Dániel brings us pleasant news from the border regions of Hungary and Romania:
The two countries started a series of joint Cabinet meetings in 2003. One of the proposals on next week’s agenda to co-ordinate ambulance and firefighting units around the border, using the nearest facility regardless the national territory for 112 calls.
And I totally agree with Dániel's evaluation of the value of such an initiative:
It will be a historical step that Southeastern Hunary and Western Romania, which is a historically multi-ethnic region of Romanians, Hungarians, Serbs, Germans and other groups, will be served by a coordinated emergency service even before Romania joins the Schengen Zone. I think that this measure is not highly symbolic, but also very useful: Békés County, which has the longest border stretch with Romania, has no major cities, and it is one of the least densely populated and poorest part of Hungary. Access to Romanian facilities will certainly save lives. And as the border was not very elaborately designed after the WWI, there are parts on the Romanian side, especially further up North, that may be better served from Hungary.
There is much bullshit going on within the European Union and the wider Europe, but in fact these little things such as cross-border emergency assistance - little things that are not as little as they appear in first place - are changing the lives of European citizens considerably to the better.

In the end, most national borders are unnatural lines drawn by the hands of past powers, usually at the expense of mutual communication and co-operation of people who just live some few meters away from each other. The European Union has managed to start changes in the perception of unnatural borders, and it is changing things to the better in this regard.

But our national governments and administrations also have to take their own further initiatives in order to come to a Europe without dividing lines.

I therefore appreciate any move in a direction that makes these unnatural lines disappear - congratulation to Hungary and Romania on this excellent move - I hope the final decision will be taken soon!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's almost surreal, but it is happening - the historical borders are falling in importance, and it's small steps like these that can ensure long-term peace anywhere.