The Visegrád Group and the railway development interest articulation in Central Eastern Europe

Bálint L. TÓTH (2019), EASTERN JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN STUDIES

This paper advances thinking on the catalysts of V4 railway policy making by offering an overview of the nature and directions of spillovers triggering Visegrád railway projects. By citing real-life examples of V4 railway cooperation supporting the neofunctionalist or the liberal intergovernmentalist theoretical frameworks, the paper contributes to the better understanding of the spillover phenomena in Central Eastern Europe, while seeking answers on how international railway policies shape the Visegrád Cooperation’s transport strategies. The paper concludes that in Visegrád countries, spillovers are primarily driven by governmental actions that serve as mediators of market, civil society, and financial needs. However, spillovers would hardly take place without the EU’s legal-institutional framework.

Railway Development in Light of Market Needs: A SWOT Analysis of the Rail Transport Markets in the Visegrád Four Countries

Bálint L. TÓTH (2020), International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the Czech, the Hungarian, the Polish and the Slovak railway development strategies in light of the evolution of transport needs, travel habits, freight volumes, and regional business relations. By offering a general SWOT analysis through real-life examples, the paper contribute to the better understanding of railway development trends in the Visegrád states. V4 railway integration is in major part powered by the EU’s development funds and regulation. However, the efficiency of train services ranks below the communitarian medium level in most of the V4 states. Therefore, if Visegrád countries wish to close up with their western neighbors, the frequency, the speed, and the quality of train services must improve.

Spillover-effects in International Railway Cooperation

Bálint L. TÓTH (2021), IN STATU NASCENDI: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL PHILOSPHY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

In recent decades, railway co-operation became an important element in the Visegrád Four countries’ regional integration. V4 presidency programs, annual reports, communiqués, and strategy papers help keep track of the evolution of such endeavours. Keyword searches of official V4 documents (dated from 2000 to 2020) demonstrates that the emergence of railway-related terms coincides with that of the expressions connected to the EU’s mobility development tools. The specialised funds of the EU’s MMFs are crucial for the (re)construction of railway connections between Visegrád countries. The number of cross-border railway construction projects in the region increased in tandem with the expansion of EU financing mechanisms. Such integration might result from spillovers of multilateral high-level decision-making forums. Politics level decision-making is, therefore, crucial for the spilling over of a particular intergovernmental partnership into other fields.

HSR Projects in V4 Countries: EU-driven spillovers of Central East European transport development initiatives

Bálint L. TÓTH (2020), IN STATU NASCENDI: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL PHILOSPHY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

EU investment initiatives strengthened trade and economic connections within the V4 region. Such projects spilled into the demand for constructing denser, safer, and more reliable rail services. However, as opposed to core EU states, spillovers in Visegrád countries are primarily driven by ad hoc governmental efforts, whereas the automaticity of non-governmental spillover directions is less observable in this case. The research suggests that practical integration in V4 countries generally involves high-level decision making. Spillovers of government and EU decisions are key factors in understanding the nature of interstate regional cooperative endeavors. This paper advances thinking on the catalysts of V4 policy making by offering an overview on the nature and directions of spillovers triggering Visegrád high-speed railway projects.

Visegrád: A Tool Supporting the Implementation of the EU’s Connectivity & Interoperability Strategies in Central East Europe

Bálint L. TÓTH (2018), FOREIGN POLICY REVIEW

On account of their central geographical position, Visegrád States have numerous geopolitical, strategic, economic, social, and historical features in common that provide a solid platform for a joint transport planning. The co-ordinated improvement of transport axes may contribute to the economic performance of Visegrád states. Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw help each other adopt the European Union’s railway traffic standards and legislation. The Visegrád Cooperation provides an optimal forum to agree upon joint lobbying positions before new railway regulations are approved by specified EU bodies or organizations. Consequently, the Visegrád Forum may also be seen as a tool for the endorsement of railway development interests complementing these Four States’ endeavors in specialized EU bodies.