Swedish and Finnish towns tear down borders

STOCKHOLM

Almost 200 years after a peace treaty between Russia and Sweden divided the town of Tornio in two on either side of the border between Sweden and Finland, the towns now plan to join together as one again - across national borders.

Haparanda on the Swedish side and Tornio on the Finnish side have launched an extensive project to build a central, border-free business and shopping district serving the 34,000 people who live in the twin cities.

"Right now, there is a 600-meter border area with traffic and customs and cameras. But we have 700 years of history as a single town, and we are both in the European Union. We don't need borders like that any more," said Jarmo Lokio, project leader on the Tornio side.

Most residents in the two towns speak both Finnish and Swedish and many work on one side of the border and live on the other. As both are members of the Schengen accords that give EU residents free movement within the 15-member community, residents do not need to show passports when they cross the border.

The two towns already share a water treatment plant, a secondary school, a job center and a sports arena, and many residents say they already consider the two towns as one.

Earlier this year, Haparanda even decided to accept the euro as payment alongside the Swedish currency the krona — even though Sweden is not a member of the 12-member euro-zone — thanks to its close relationship to euro-zone member Finland.

A main street will be built linking the two towns, as well as other roads and bicycle paths. Local buses will be rerouted to roll through the center, ferries will be able to dock at new ports nearby, and access will be provided for snowmobile traffic.

Swedish and Finnish customs will be housed in a single building in the center.

No name has been chosen for the reunited town, though "Eurocity" has been used to market the project that has gone under the working title "On the Border" for the past six years.

On the Tornio side, construction is expected to begin on the main street, where the border now lies, this autumn, while in Haparanda, the issue is to be put to town residents in a non-binding referendum in connection with Sweden's legislative elections on Sept. 15.

Public opinion polls indicate 80 percent of Haparanda residents are in favor of the project.

The towns, some 75 kilometers from the Arctic Circle at the tip of the Gulf of Bothnia, are divided along their national borders by the Torneaelv River, whose waters will run through the new town center.

Construction is expected to be completed by 2015, 206 years after Russia conquered Finland in the 1808-1809 war with Sweden.