At the turn of the century, bicycle trails in Slovakia were only at the starting point of their transformation into a modern network.
With a lack of planning and insufficient know-how among local authorities, they were previously constructed without any real plan or model to follow.
"They were built right on the table, you might say," explains Eva Lovasikova from Slovakian regional development agency Senec–Pezinok. "Some interest groups just took a map, decided where to place the bicycle trail and marked it on the map without even asking the town authorities for permission."
Thanks to EU-funded cross-border cooperation programmes, the situation has improved significantly. In the past, people in Slovakia did not have any modern bicycle trails to rely on. Now, as their number grows, people's mindsets are changing as well. Slovaks are starting to use more ecological means of transport and the popularity of cycling is rising. To date, 108 kilometres of additional cycle tracks have been built in Slovakia.
More than meets the eye in small cities
Small border cities in Slovakia, Austria and Hungary are often overlooked, since the three countries' capital cities – Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest – are so close. People rushing between the three capitals rarely stop to take a look at the smaller towns and villages nearby.
But in 2005, Slovak regions began to cooperate with their Austrian and Hungarian counterparts to develop a pilot project for international cycling trails. At that time, this project was still financed from pre-accession (PHARE) funds. Within a year, the 'bicycle trails without frontiers' project had been succesfully completed. From then on, many villages and towns decided to join.
With the bicycle trail now connecting the three capitals via small cities, these places are finally getting their share of attention. "Not too many people realise that though these cities are small, they hide great history: forgotten manor houses, medieval churches, ancient Roman ruins: who would have thought?" one bicycle tourist told EurActiv Slovakia.
Indeed, with the dawn of the international bicycle trail, the number of tourists visiting small border cities has grown. Mayors and municipalities have realised the potential opportunities and many more of them are now thinking about taking part.
The Slovak city of Komarno sits right on the border with Hungary. Its rich history, old fortress system and remarkable 'Square of Europe' – a tourist attraction replicating the architecture of various European cities and symbolising European integration - make it an ideal place to visit. The city has also decided to join the international bicycle trail. Though it only signed up this year, expectations are quite high.
"Citizens are excited. The trail will be connecting our city with its Hungarian counterpart Komárom and even more tourists will come," hopes Beata Seboova from the city's Landmark conservation authority. Landmark has already received funding from the EU's cross-border cooperation programme between Slovakia and Hungary, and is now looking for a convenient partner via public procurement.
Thousand of tourists cycle part or all of the trail every year, with many of them coming from afar. Without it, many of these tourists would probably never visit all of these small border cities, local sources told EurActiv.
As well as increasing tourism revenues, the cycle tracks have social, ecological and public health functions. More and more families now spend their weekends on wheels, a healthy and green pastime. "They've succeeding in creating a safe environment for cyclists. It is also great for family trips and picnics in nature," said one of the tourists.
Culturally, the cycle trails may also play a part in succesfully breaking down barriers between countries. People from border regions are starting to cooperate on a new, European level, improving communication and coordinating their activities better, according to many municipalities.
Funds mostly aimed at infrastructure
As a new EU member country, Slovakia uses European regional funds mainly for building new or upgrading existing infrastructure. Most of the projects approved by national authorities therefore resemble each other in scope and structure.
An official at the Slovak Ministry for Construction and Regional Development explained, "currently, we don't focus that much on long-term Lisbon strategy goals. The key goal of the regional operating programme is to improve the quality and accessability of basic infrastructure. That is something I consider one of the biggest achievements of the new member countries".
"We were able to persuade the old members that we have to build the infrastructure first and only then can we innovate and improve competitiveness. But in the next 2014–2020 period, our programmes will be more Lisbon-like," the official said.
The bike trail concept is unique in Slovakia. Eva Lovasikova of the Slovak regional development agency said, "by building the cycle tracks, opportunities for towns and the whole region rise significantly. Tourism in that area grows. Moreover, in the case of border regions, such as those by the Danube or Moravia rivers, they create new ways for these regions to interact".
Building on this success, an additional plan is currently under consideration which would connect the wine-making regions of Slovakia and Austria with the Czech Republic. Co-financed by the EU's Interreg programme, the scheme, called 'Region of cycling and wine: Wienviertel-South Moravia', will connect almost twenty villages and allow them to share their wine traditions and culture with cycling tourists.
Hiccups
However, not everything is running smoothly. Somewhat surprisingly, the last intersection of the international bicycle trail in Slovak capital Bratislava is yet to be finished. "It is very difficult to build bicycle trails here. Disputes over property rights and rapidly growing traffic complicate the situation significantly," said Katarina Szabova, a member of municipal organisation STaRZ, which is in charge of the bicycle trails.
Szabova told EurActiv Slovakia that "all these formal things could have been solved a long time ago". Nevertheless, the last intersection is expected to be finished later this year.
In Slovakia, EU funding is a relatively new issue. Despite the fact that the country received more than 11 billion euros for the 2007–2013 period, most of these monies are yet to be allocated. Cities and especially small towns face many challenges in applying for funding.
Excessive bureaucracy is one of the biggest challenges. According to experts, many of the administrative obstacles do not come from Brussels and are in fact to be found at local level. Therefore, "EU funds are today seen as very difficult to procure and are hampered by lots of absurd rules. There is an unnecessary administrative burden right from the beginning. The decision-making authorities require a lot of documents that are not even needed during the project phase," claimed Ctibor Kostal from the Slovak Governance Institute.
He added that a lot of projects are unfairly disqualified for trifling issues like writing application dates or commas the wrong way.
As a result of these barriers, many small towns are often discouraged from applying for EU funds. "Small town mayors told us that although they had already finalised their project proposals, they still hesitated to apply for funds," revealed Helena Polakova from the Association of Slovak Cities and Towns (ZMOS).
This is still the case despite the impact of the current financial and economic crises on small town budgets having been greater than anticipated, Polakova explained, underlining that EU funds could be a massive help but remains very difficult for towns to obtain.
Another problem is the long-term viability of the approved projects. Authorities often give their green light to projects that are not very sustainable and subsequently vanish once the EU funding has dried up.
"There are two issues. One is that the projects are seen as easy money – this means groups that couldn't otherwise afford to even think about realising their ideas are applying for the funds. For example, the reconstruction of a school is supported but then the municipal authorities have to close it down because it doesn't have enough pupils," said the Slovak Governance Institute's Kostal.
The second flaw, he explained, is that projects are not built to last, beause sustainability is not a criterion of the selection process.
Though steps are being taken to address such flaws, the necessary changes are not being made very quickly. "Red tape is still present, though some things have improved. But in many cases, it still takes too long to receive the first payment for a project," said Miroslav Babka from ZMOS.
