As someone from Sweden with my paternal family roots in northern Finland, I know personally what cross-border cooperation has meant for the Finnish-Swedish border region. My ancestors have traded goods, moved and married across the border since time immemorial, and my many travels there have strengthened both my personal connection to the region and my understanding of what cross-border cooperation can accomplish at its best. Having a history of being the same country for over 700 years, from the early medieval times until 1809, and enjoying freedom of movement since 1954, this border region is among the most well integrated in Europe. 

Although a success story in many ways, this border region still faces challenges. Both the Lapland region in Finland and Norrbotten region in Sweden are rural with vast distances between localities. Sustaining social services is difficult and many young people leave for the larger cities down south. In parts of this border region, especially in the most northern and rural parts, schools and healthcare facilities across the border may be closer than the closest services within the own country. But by living on the ‘‘wrong’’ side of the border, inhabitants can’t use the schools or healthcare providers closest to them. Since both these regions face similar problems, new forms of cross-border cooperation should be used to the benefit of both regions.
 

My first suggestion is to have the border regions and municipalities allow people to enlist in schools and healthcare facilities across the border. Regional politicians in the northern Finnish city of Kemi have already suggested receiving Swedish patients at their hospitals – patients who otherwise would have to travel hundreds of kilometers, sometimes as far as Stockholm, for treatment. I believe this should be the norm in the entire border region. People tend to move to the regions further south because of an experienced lack of social services and opportunities. But if we were to provide cross-border healthcare, education, and social services, it would incentivize people to stay in the border region.
 

This retention of residents would help maintain the essential tax revenues needed to support local public services and infrastructure. These solutions could be exported to other European rural border areas with similar problems.
 

My second suggestion is to create a cross-border public transportation network. From personal experience, cross-municipal bus transportation in northern Sweden is relatively good in rural areas. But in northern Finland it is lacking, expensive and concentrated in larger towns. If the regions Lapland and Norrbotten were to join forces and create a common public transportation network between the two regions, it would only strengthen them and provide people with better opportunities and incentives to live their lives across borders. This idea could also be exported to other European border regions with similar challenges.