The Model of Cross-Border Cooperation in the Torne Valley Region

Abstract

For social scientists interested in the problems of cross-border cooperation, the Swedish - Finnish border may seem unattractive and uneventful. But in spite of being located at the periphery of Europe, this area offers one of the most interesting case studies in the field of cross-boundary regionalization and city twinning, that of Haparanda - Tornio. Through the establishment of Provincia Bothniensis they were able to create one of the most integrated Euroregions and an archetype of the United City of the future, constituting a unique example of city twinning beyond ethnic, cultural and political divisions.