Haparanda-Tornio

Haparanda-Tornio

Links

Haparanda-Tornio

Countries: Sweden , Finland
Regions concerned: Haparanda municipality, Tornio municipality

Overview

Summary

Tornio (22,000 inhabitants) and Haparanda (10,000 inhabitants) are two towns situated one on each side of the Finnish-Swedish border, which is marked by the Torne river. Due to the absence of a physical border between the two cities they have been able to develop cooperation in daily life for many years. Indeed, the populations communicate without any language barrier and cross the border on a daily basis (work, recreation, shopping…).

The cross-border cooperation between Tornio and Haparanda is one of the most successful examples in Europe. The two municipalities began their collaboration in the 1960s, in particular in the fields of education and culture. Following the first positive results the local authorities expanded the cooperation to other sectors. In 1987 the two cities decided to formalise their cooperation by creating the cross-border association ‘Provincia Bothniensis’ and in 2006 the two cities acquired a joint name and logo ‘Tornio-Haparanda’. Cooperation projects between the two municipalities are today undertaken within the context of the “Europe 2020” strategy.