Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives

The Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives is an association that combines the cross-border regions of Hungary, Central Europe and South-East Asia.

The most important goals of the CESCI are:

• Provision of a professional support of cross-border cooperation along the Hungarian borders to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe;
• Motivation of the cross-border regions, the European groupings of territorial cooperation and the local and regional actors involved in cross-border cooperation to cooperate in a network;
• Promotion of good examples for initiatives in Western Europe;
• Creation of a strategic cooperation with the competent institutes that make decisions and prepare resolutions of the EU, as well as with the networks in Northern and Western Europe that were crated for the same purpose;
• Strengthening of the internal cohesion and a mutual approximation within the region by founding partnerships between the nations of Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Its most important tasks are:

• Research through analysis of legal documents of cohesion policy of the EU, implementation of research projects and organisation of events;
• Strategic cross-border planning thanks to the development of guidelines for methodical work and planning, as well as development of territorial databases;
• Development of institutions and projects by creation of institutional frameworks for long-term cooperation (e.g. preparation, grounding and entry of European groupings of territorial cooperation);
• Mediation between the different governance levels, development of instruments for exchange of specialist know-how, publications and methods, organisation of professional events, training and lectures.

Since 2013, the research activities have been performed by an institute, the European Institute of cross-border studies.

On its website, the association provides all of its studies and analyses, links to the different European groupings of territorial cooperation founded by the association (approx. 10) and a platform.