Kékfrank to Boost the Resilience of Locality

Abstract

A small group of entrepreneurs in Sopron (Hungary), led by Tamás Perkovátz, decided in autumn of 2008, to make the local economy – which was previously famous for its grape and wine – prosper again, and to unite the economies of the area cut into three parts, belonging to three different countries. Thus they created an European Cooperative Society (SCE), that had individuals and legal entities from Hungary, Austria and Croatia as members, and the goal of the Cooperative was defined as to introduce and operate a complementary currency Kékfrank (blue franc, named for a wine variety), to be used within the region. This paper presents the European Union directives and regulations that made the creation of Kékfrank possible and finally it shows the main characteristics and possible further developments of the new currency which was born in spring of 2010 through the first official exchange.