Executive Director
Council of Torne Valley
Interest representation and partnership in the Torne Valley
The Council of Torne Valley is a cross-border partnership and interest representation organisation, as well as one of the border committees funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Council of Torne Valley includes 14 member municipalities in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Apart from one, all member municipalities are also border municipalities.
The region of the Council of Torne Valley includes Finland’s only land border with Sweden and part of the land border between Finland and Norway. This region is special due to its shared history and culture. It is often thought that the Torne Valley only includes Finnish and Swedish border municipalities, overlooking the fact that the Kven people of northern Norway originate from the Torne Valley. It is typical in this region that both family members and more distant relatives live on different sides of three borders. Daily cross-border commutes, hobbies in other countries, and the cross-border uses of health, culture, and other services are also common in the border municipalities of the Torne Valley.
Considering the inhabitants and businesses of the member municipalities, the Torne Valley has been at the heart of great changes. The Coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, affecting the daily lives of those especially who visited other countries on a daily basis. As the decision-makers in our countries did not have a concrete understanding of the unique cross-border life in the Torne Valley, a truly tri-partite interest representation and partnership organisation such as the Council of Torne Valley was needed.
Cross-border labour market and business region – The Torne Valley Pilot Region
During the Coronavirus pandemic, the decision was made to invest in the Torne Valley Pilot Region, seeking to secure special rights for the inhabitants of the border municipalities. The decision made by the Finnish Government on 19.8.2020 to allow the inhabitants of border communities to cross borders on other business besides work-related business was a unique and significant decision in the entire Nordic region. The decision was grounded precisely on the cross-border family ties existing in the three-country area. The decision demonstrated that it is possible to secure special rights by means of interest representation and strong justifications.
The role of the Torne Valley and the entire Northern region is growing in all three countries due to significant investments. Mining industries, tourism, forestry industry, and the green transition together with the planned wind farms to increase electricity generation are very important societal investments. Large-scale investments require more labour, which means more residents in the region.
The purpose of the Torne Valley Pilot Region is to get decision-makers in Finland, Sweden, and Norway to understand and see the special characteristics of the Torne Valley, meaning its nature as a business and labour market area that crosses the borders of the shared domain. The operating region of the inhabitants and businesses in the border municipalities of Sweden, Finland, and Norway needs to be a full circle, not a semi-circle as it currently often is due to country-specific legislation. The Torne Valley Pilot Region is a concrete way to move towards the vision of the Council of Torne Valley of creating the most integrated border zone in all of Europe, and it also incorporates grassroots work towards the Vision 2030 of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which aims to turn the entire Nordic region into the world’s most sustainable and integrated region by the year 2030.
The Torne Valley in the heart of security of supply
Because of its cross-border railway and road networks, the Torne Valley region is an important node for the supply security of the Nordic region and all of Finland. It is vital for the businesses and people of the Torne Valley to have well-functioning cross-border traffic networks, railway connections, airfields, and road networks in all three countries. The changing security status in Europe with the achieved NATO membership of Finland and the coming membership of Sweden has made the decision-makers in all three countries turn their attention towards infrastructure projects in the Nordic region. The importance of supply security has increased, and the only railway connection currently existing between Finland and Sweden is across the Torne River at Tornio-Haparanda. Highway E8 runs in the Torne Valley on the Finnish side, being currently the most important traffic connection between Northern Finland and Northern Norway, but also a significant connection for the businesses and people in Northern Sweden. The significance of route E8 in terms of supply security has increased after Russia’s attack against Ukraine.
Working infrastructure and the cross-border railroad connection are important pull factors. The completion of the upgraded Haparanda Line in 2012, the ongoing electrification of the Tornio-Laurila railroad connection, to be completed in 2024, and the decision to electrify the Tornio-Kolari connection are extremely important decisions for northern traffic connections. The goal of the Nordic Council of Ministers is to further improve cross-border mobility, and Sweden, Finland, and Norway must all better account for the importance of the Torne Valley in the future.