Paula Mikkola
Secretary General
North Calotte Council / Pohjoiskalotin neuvosto
Finland
paula.mikkola@lapinliitto.fi
Freedom of movement has been the right of Nordic citizens since 1950’s and we have had the Nordic agreement about a common labor market. However, as every Nordic country still has the sovereign right to decide their own legislation, they are not totally harmonized and especially regarding free movement of citizens, problems with border obstacles can occur. Many problems can be avoided if citizens acquire the necessary information in advance.
Border Information Service (BIS) Sweden-Finland-Norway has worked since 2011 to deliver cross-border information and to assist in tackling border obstacles between our countries. The purpose is to make it easier for private individuals and companies to move, commute, study or conduct business as freely as possible across the borders between the Nordic countries. BIS Sweden-Finland-Norway is one of the three Nordic Border Information Services operating on the borders of Sweden-Denmark (ÖresundDirekt), Sweden-Norway (Gränstjänsten Norge-Sverige), and Sweden-Finland-Norway (Rajaneuvonta Ruotsi-Suomi-Norja).
All Nordic Border information services perform similar activities in different regions. They inform about questions that people must pay attention to when moving to work or study in another Nordic country. They identify cross-border obstacles in the region, raise awareness, and work with local and national authorities to find potential solutions to them. They are also cooperating with other border regions to find common solutions. If any solution cannot be found, BIS will forward the question to the Nordic Council of minister’s Freedom of Movement Council. Border Information Services will also monitor the solution seeking and follow up the implementation of amended legislation.
Border obstacles are problems which are caused by varying national laws and administrative procedures which hinder access to work, education, emergency services, business, local public transport, and health care, for example.
A cross-border worker (or frontier worker) is defined as an individual that works in one country and resides in another country (political criterion) to which the worker returns daily or at least weekly (time criterion). Cross-border workers can be affected by several legal and administrative obstacles that are interlinked.
The issues of social security, tax systems and labor law remain a national competence. Social security systems are not harmonized and vary across the Nordic countries. Problems are further aggravated by a lack of, or inconsistent information (e.g. knowledge about responsible offices, transparency in taxation). Difficulties can arise for cross-border workers due to differences in the interpretation of EU and national legislation, and challenges in the administrative cooperation between authorities at national and local level between the countries.
The Nordic Council of Ministers has worked systematically to remove obstacles from cross-border freedom of movement since 2008. Many people are involved in this work, such as the Freedom of Movement Council, Info Norden, and the dedicated Border Information Services. The objective is to remove a handful of obstacles every year, and to ensure that national legislation does not instigate new obstacles. According to EU, removing one fifth of all obstacles could lead to GDP growth by 2 percent in border regions, and one million new jobs. Therefore, avoiding any new additional cross-border obstacle is a pivotal task.
It is important to note that the role of BIS and Info Norden is not to solve cross-border obstacles, but to identify obstacles and facilitate the process to resolve them. Most cross-border obstacles can only be solved by legislators. The main task of Border Information Services and other cross-border organizations (cross-border committees) is to provide legislators with the evidence and information that they need for taking necessary actions, and to secure their engagement in the work.
Border Information Service Sweden-Finland-Norway has two offices in border regions, one in the twin-city Tornio-Haparanda and another in Storfjord municipality in Norway. North Calotte Council is the responsible administrative organization for the operation and receives annual support from the Nordic Council of Ministers for this work.
North Calotte region consists of the northernmost regions of Finland (Lapland), Sweden (Norrbotten) and Norway (Nordland, Troms and Finnmark). However, the Border Information Service is not limited by geography. The service is nationally available to anyone who needs to find out more about operating across the Nordic borders. Questions and enquiries can be sent from all over the country.
It is important, however, to keep in mind that the BIS is not an authority, which would have the mandate to provide correct answers to detailed questions. BIS can assist with information about whom to ask for answers at an authority, but the contacts should be taken by the customers themself. BIS does not either work as a translation office or an advocate. In shorter terms, BIS works as a facilitator or intermediator of contacts between the customer and responsible authorities.
The future is in the north. Large investments in green transition are planned in the northern areas of our countries. At the same time, demographic development (ageing population, outmigration, low nativity) in the northern regions is challenging the ambitious economic plans. No region alone will be able to meet the envisaged demand for labor in the coming years. Free movement of labor across the national borders will increase in the coming decades.
BIS Sweden-Finland-Norway has established EURES-partnerships with national labor market authorities. EURES aims at assisting cross-border workers and students as well as employers who wish to recruit labor from the other side of the border. EURES-staff from three countries has access to vacancy databases of both sides of the border. Additionally, the comprehensive EURES-network organizes information seminars and job days for jobseekers and / or employers. They make a significant contribution to the free labor movement in the Nordics.
A functioning cross-border transport infrastructure will encourage labor mobility. Differences in housing and living costs can have a big impact on cross-border mobility. Some more challenges, such as insufficient command of the language in the country of work or lacking recognition of qualifications, are also affecting cross-border mobility. BIS Sweden-Finland-Norway discusses these challenges with relevant actors in seminars and annual meetings.
Setting up physical information service centers is costly and less effective for border regions with very long borders and several cross-border access points. Such information services can be complemented with interactive web-based solutions. These are currently under development for the Border information service Sweden-Finland-Norway.