Cross-border municipalities in Sweden and its Nordic neighbours are already well integrated. They have strong links and cooperate closely, in particular through cross-border committees involving local and regional authorities or through direct cooperation at the municipal level. However, issues hindering greater integration of cross-border municipalities and regions remain.
This study focuses on three cases in the Swedish-Finnish, Swedish-Norwegian and Swedish-Danish border regions that face different topographical challenges. Through interviews with local and regional stakeholders, the main challenges with regard to furthering cross-border integration were identified.
In addition, four research axes for sharing-potential were identified on the basis of the interviews and later discussed during a workshop held with stakeholders from municipalities, regions and national authorities from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
In this report, our research focuses on the following key questions:
- What national support for urban-urban development across borders is needed by border towns and cities?
- What coordination efforts (horizontal and vertical) are needed to achieve sustainable and green urban development in Nordic cross-border towns and cities?
- What policy recommendations can be made based on the existing needs in border municipalities?
