Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the influence of the European Union in the management of natural and cultural heritage along the Slovenian-Hungarian border.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the influence of the European Union in the management of natural and cultural heritage along the Slovenian-Hungarian border in an expanded EU. National borders, which are historically considered as peripheral, less developed regions, are defined as a strategic interest of the EU as a multinational body, whose structure hinges on the free movement of personal and goods across borders. Currently, the EU contains 40 internal land borders that together comprise almost 40% of its territory and virtually one-third of its population.

EU projects serve as a lens for examining the changing post-socialist regime of the Hungarian-Slovenian border and the top-down role of the EU in the heritage management of the border's interconnected protected areas (Goričko Nature Park and Őrség National Park). The analysis centers on the role of the EU PHARE projects as a financial and developmental mechanism of the countries' EU accession process, examining the ways in which the border was imagined and addressed by different PHARE programs (primarily multi-country and cross-border).