News

As the Nordic Region faces new and complex geopolitical shifts, Nordic policymakers have deemed increased cross-border transport critical. At the recent Platform North conference, Anna Lundgren, Senior Research Fellow at Nordregio, shared research insights from the NORDINFRA project and the critical elements required for effective cross-border transport infrastructure planning. Funded by the Swedish National Transport Administration and carried out between 2021 and 2023, the NORDINFRA project, a collaborative effort between Nordregio and Umeå University, aimed to identify the barriers and drivers of successful cross-border collaboration. The project focused on three connections (all at an early planning stage): the Helsingborg-Helsingør connection, the Stockholm-Oslo railway, and a multimodal line from Mo I Rana in Norway through Umeå in Sweden to Vasa in Finland. Insights to enhance Nordic cross-border transport First, a top-down approach is key. National-level political collaboration and support are essential for paving the way. The Nordic ministers on transport infrastructure have issued a declaration on cooperation and mandated the national transport administrations to deepen their cooperation, which are important steps in the right direction. Secondly, a systems perspective is fundamental. Cross-border infrastructure planning transcends national boundaries, and considering the different modes of transport in that system is essential. To date, the Nordic Region lacks a comprehensive overview of the Nordic transport infrastructure system of transport flows, and the national transport plans. Thirdly, it’s a question of costs and benefits. Economic figures and risk analyses are the foundation of sound decision-making. The results highlighted the need for joint analyses and models to estimate transport flows, evaluate risks and calculate costs and benefits. Roadmap to a Nordic transport model Anna Lundgren outlined best practices for policymakers and planners engaged in transport infrastructure planning: Acknowledge and navigate the complexities introduced by national borders and multiple governance levels; Ensure that national-level governments and relevant…

Cross-sectorial collaboration and integration of innovative practices within current frameworks is essential to succeed.

The Nordic-Baltic region, renowned for its digital proficiency, faces a critical challenge: a widening digital divide between urban centres and its vast, sparsely populated rural areas. To address this, a new Nordregio research project “Nordic-Baltic Connectivity (NB-Connect) was launched, building upon the success of its predecessor.

As global challenges such as climate change, natural disasters, and geopolitical tensions intensify, preparedness and resilience have become central concerns for policymakers at all levels. Nordic regions face various risks, including severe weather events, disruptions to food and energy supplies, and cross-border emergencies. Ensuring robust civil preparedness is essential to maintain stability and operational capacity during crises. A newly published storymap ‘Robust regional civil preparedness in the Nordic Region’ introduces a selection of good practices to showcase how Nordic regions address risks and challenges through locally adapted solutions. The good practice examples have been collected as a part of Nordregio’s Robust Regional Preparedness project that examines the regional policy dimension of building civil preparedness and resilience. Elin Slätmo, Senior Research Fellow at Nordregio and project leader of Robust Regional Preparedness, explains: “In this assignment from the Nordic regional ministers, our team is looking into how regional policy in the Nordics addresses civil preparedness and crisis response. We are also working to identify cases and good examples from across the Nordic Region.“ Diverse initiatives across the Nordic Region The storymap reflects a wide range of diverse approaches for strengthening civil preparedness at regional and local levels. In addition, the examples highlight the importance of cooperation between different actors to address shared risks and enhance joint preparedness. Among the 24 featured good practices, you can discover for instance how: What is the role of regional policy and local and regional action in build robust societies? Civil preparedness is an important part of managing risks ranging from natural disasters like storms and wildfires to disruptions in essential services such as food and energy. Local and regional authorities are often the first to respond and take action, implementing measures that safeguard communities and ensure the continuity of essential services. Their ability to implement flexible,…

Development happens locally – but what does that look like at a cross-national level? During the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, the Nordic countries presented the first-ever Nordic Voluntary Sub-National Review (VSR), setting a new global benchmark for localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Representatives from Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark presented the collaborative findings, and international and youth actors offered learnings for implementing the 2030 Agenda at the local level across Nordic municipalities. “Local level is taking the lead” “As this new Nordic VSR shows, the local level is taking the lead in advancing sustainability and transforming society, by integrating the SDGs in steering models and utilising them as tools to spur cross-sectoral collaboration and enhance the quality of life for citizens,” declared Anna Karin Eneström, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations, as she opened the session. This sentiment was echoed throughout the event, highlighting the critical role that municipalities play in translating global goals into strategic local actions. The most sustainable region in the world by 2030 Nordic countries operate under a decentralised welfare model where regions and municipalities have extensive responsibilities based on strong local self-government, something which Merete Fjeld Brattested, Norway’s Permanent Representative to the UN, pointed out to serve as a benchmark for systematically addressing sustainability challenges. The long tradition of robust relations between the different levels of government, supported by national agencies, produces reliable statistics, creating favourable conditions for working towards sustainable development. By 2030, the Nordic Region aims to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world, according to the Vision 2030, accepted by all Nordic governments. The Vision 2030 and the 2030 Agenda are strongly interlinked. Multilevel cooperation is key to enhance the implementation of these agendas, as Eeva Furman pointed out during…

For seven decades, Nordic citizens have had the opportunity to travel, live and work in another Nordic country without permits and with common rights. This was celebrated with a jubilee conference in Malmö, where Nordregio launched a report “Nordic Common Labour Market: 70 Years and Beyond,” examining the past, present, and future of this pivotal agreement.   70 years of Nordic labour mobility  Established in 1954, the Nordic Common Labour Market agreement has significantly facilitated cross-border employment, fostering economic cooperation and mobility. However, despite the longstanding cooperation, practical barriers such as as tax legislation and language barriers still hinder seamless cross-border labour movement.  To evaluate the impact of the agreement, Nordregio researchers Anna Lundgren, Gustaf Norlén, Debora Pricila Birgier and Nora Sanchéz Gassen presented a literature review, analysed available statistics, and conducted surveys, and interviews. The report reveals that while 15% of Nordic citizens move houses within their countries annually, only 40,000 people per year move to another Nordic country. Nordic citizens working and living in another Nordic country in 2023 was 1.6%. In the year 2000, this number was 1.9%, a lower average compared to 3.9% in Europe in 2023.   – What surprised me the most was the importance of geographical and cultural closeness when it comes to moving within the Nordic region. Norwegians form the largest minority population at the Swedish border. Similarly, Danes are also a prominent minority at the Swedish border. In Denmark, Greenlanders constitute the largest minority in several municipalities, underscoring the historical and ongoing connections within the Kingdom of Denmark, Anna Lundgren stated.   Key Insights from the report  Reflecting historical migration trends, the largest group of migrants in Sweden are those older than 70, particularly those who moved from Finland during the 1970s. In contrast, Iceland and the Faroe Islands attract many young Nordic migrants.…