Klagenfurter Geographische Schriften 29 (2013) 126-139 Klagenfurter Geographische Schriften www.geo.aau.at/KGS The Bulgarian-Serbian border region: problems and perspectives Rossen Koroutchev* * Universidad Autonoma de Madrid ([email protected]) Abstract In this paper, the current social and economic situation of the Bulgarian-Serbian border region is analyzed, with a focus on the role of the cross-border actors and the survival strategies in the poorest region of the European Union. Moreover, some of the possible economic opportunities for the future development of the region are discussed. Key words: border regions, migration, cross-border cooperation Introduction In border studies, there is an extensive discussion in the literature concerning the meaning of the border (see van Over the last decades, tremendous geopolitical changes Houtum 2002a, 2002b, 2003, 2005, 2011). Borders can have taken place in Southeastern Europe. The Bulgarian- be perceived as barriers and obstacles for people to trav- Serbian border region has been particularly affected. el, to collaborate or to work, as an obstacle for goods to Divided by the Iron Curtain, the Bulgarian side of the be carried from one country to another. At the same time, border and Bulgaria as a whole, as a member and associ- they can be perceived as a starting contact point for co- ated member of the former Council for Mutual Economic operation, as a place where many people exercise their Assistance had good economic cooperation with other profession and live their life. member countries during the Cold War era. Bulgaria has been a EU member state since 2007, while Serbia, which In this context, the following aspects are researched more was significantly affected by armed conflicts during the in-depth: period of the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the Will cross-border cooperation be intensified, if the 1990s, only has the status of a EU candidate country. trans-border communication network is improved and Consequences of various aspects are expected in the easier reach is possible? future on the development of the border regions of both countries: different border regimes, the region’s geo- Which implications of the political-economic changes graphical and economic periphery and the first EU sup- of the last decades are still present in the border re- ported cross-border cooperation for the development of gion? regions at the EU’s external borders. In this regard, the Which development is to be expected due to the pe- Bulgarian-Serbian border region is one of the less re- ripheral location of the region? searched in Europe and is elaborated on in this paper. What is the population’s density and ethnical struc- The key issue is: to what extent have border regimes over ture? the last decades as opposed to other factors determined the current situation and the basis for the future develop- What are the implications of the economic develop- ment of the border region? ment of the last decades on population development? 126 Klagenf. Geogr. Schr. ISSN 2308-9849 R. Koroutchev / Klagenfurter Geographische Schriften 29 (2013) 126-139 Economic development and foreign investments mography, unemployment, investments, remittances, is based on statistics of the Bulgarian and the Serbian statis- What are the impacts of the regional economic devel- tical offices. opment on every-day life in the border region? What is the importance of the remittances in the sup- port of the population and the economy of the two Geography of the region and the trans-border countries? traffic network What is the income situation in the border area? The Bulgarian-Serbian border from the river Danube in the north down to the Bulgarian-Serbian-Macedonian The present research is based on official data from the border triangle is approximately 220 km long. Most of EU and different state institutions and on information the border-region is mountainous to alpine terrain, except collected during a three-weeks fieldwork of the author in for a short undulating and hilly terrain in the northern the area in October 2011. During the fieldwork, extensive part and a strip in the area where the main road from notes were taken and several interviews were conducted. Sofia to Belgrade passes. Most of the borderline coin- The visited regions, where the interviews took place, cides with the ridgeline of the Western Balkan Mountains comprise the municipalities of Majdanpek, Rajac, Babin and has few road connections between both sides. There Zub resort, Dimitrovgrad, Bankia (Trun region), are only three highways and two main roads crossing the Komshtitsa, Belogradchik, Salash and Vidin. Interview- border. High capacity road and railway lines connect Niš ees were selected according to the criteria of having in Serbia and Sofia and in addition Skopje with representatives from different age groups, educational Kyustendil and Sofia. Sofia itself is an important traffic levels and professional backgrounds. node in Southeastern Europe at the intersection of the The analysis of the interviews forms the core of the last axis Belgrade – Sofia – Istanbul and Thessaloniki on the section, describing the economic situation of the border one hand and Skopje – Sofia – Bucharest on the other region. The quantitative analysis, which deals with de- hand. Figure 1: The Bulgarian-Serbian border region and the interview sites 127 Klagenf. Geogr. Schr. ISSN 2308-9849 R. Koroutchev / Klagenfurter Geographische Schriften 29 (2013) 126-139 Most of the trans-border region is located in remote areas transformation from the socialist system towards a mar- outside of dynamic economic centers and, with the ex- ket economy has introduced many elements that have led ception of Sofia, far away from big cities. This is another to the closing of many important industries, to the accu- reason, which makes cross-border cooperation tradition- mulation of wealth in the hand of very few, persons relat- ally more difficult. Job centers or processing and indus- ed to the former socialist regime, and finally to massive trial centers are not available and it is also not an option migration and the collapse of the economic and social for inhabitants to commute to the bigger central places on structure of the country. a daily basis. A big area of the border region could be In Yugoslavia, Tito allowed citizens to travel abroad categorized as an economically underdeveloped rural freely as of 1968 and permitted to own small and medi- area. A common characteristic of the Bulgarian and Ser- um sized private properties. The economy was oriented bian border regions is their low economic development towards the free market. People who decided to migrate compared to the remaining territories of both countries to Western Europe were free to do so. As a result, the (IPA, 2007). remittances they sent to Yugoslavia helped the improve- This remote and mountainous border area has a beautiful ment of the local economy. landscape, almost virgin nature and offers significant Nowadays most of the property in Serbia is distributed in opportunities for the development of tourism in the re- the same way as during Tito's era, with many big busi- gion. There are many natural parks and protected areas nesses owned by the state. Due to the private character of like the Belogradchik Rocks, the Magura Cave, the the small producers in agriculture in Serbia, the villages Rabisha Lake and the thermal springs in Kyustendil, near the border are not as deserted as in Bulgaria (Mlad- Sapareva Banja, Vurhets or Rudartsi in Bulgaria, or the enov & Kazakov, 2009). thermal springs on the Serbian side in Niška Banja, Soko Banja, Vranjška Banja and Zvonjačka Banja. Many natu- On the contrary, in Bulgaria people were not allowed to ral areas have been proposed for the inclusion in NATU- travel abroad freely until December 1989. During the rule RA 2000 (Penin, 2000). Also environmental pollution, a of Vulko Chervenkov (1950-1954), a forced collectiviza- major problem of big towns and industrialized parts, does tion was imposed, that later resulted in the first massive not exist in these rural areas. anti-Soviet armed uprising in Eastern Europe, the Gorjani Resistance Movement (1950-1952) (Gorcheva, 2007). During Todor Zhivkov's rule (1954-1989), the exact Political-economic development of the last dec- same planning and structure of the collective farms as in ades the Soviet Union was implemented and the results were ineffective in terms of production and benefits. All the factors mentioned above are however not enough for a sufficient and sustainable economic development. It The closing of the mines after 1989 and the decay of the is the opposite. The region is being deserted and the mining industry had a strong economic impact in many economic and social situation is getting worse (Mladenov small cities, where this activity used to be the major & Kazakov, 2009), and it lags far behind the European source of income for people. Due to bad governing prac- level. In 2013, the northern region on the Bulgarian side tices and mismanagement of public money between 1990 held the last rank out of 262 regions in the EU-27 con- and 1997, the Bulgarian economy and state collapsed, cerning territorial competitiveness (European Union, followed by hyperinflation. 2013). From a geographical point of view, Serbia has become – The reasons for the present situation have their historical at least partially – isolated from the rest of its neighbors, explanation in the period of 1949-1989, characterized by many of which have joined the EU. This situation creates forced collectivization, the period of the Iron Curtain in problems for people who travel often to the neighboring Bulgaria. However, the main reason is the character of EU countries, although the end of the visa requirement the property structure during the last decades. The rapid for Serbian citizens (not living in Kosovo) entering the 128 Klagenf.