Resources on the Arctic border: views of the Finnish municipalities and the EU`s cross-border program

The European Union and the individual municipalities are part of the Finnish structure for regional development. Today, Finnish regional development focuses on strengthening the regions’ endogenous potential, which takes into account the environmental, economic, cultural and social aspects alike. This chapter analyzes which environmental, economic, cultural and social resources for regional development can be recognized in the EU’s cross-border cooperation program Interreg V A Nord (2014–2020) and in the Finnish municipalities in the Arctic border region between Finland and Sweden, as well as their similarities and differences.
The research data consists of the municipal strategies of six Finnish municipalities (Tornio, Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari, Muonio and Enontekiö) and of the description and SWOT analysis (Områdesbeskrivning och SWOT-analys in the Swedish original) of the Interreg Nord program region. This is an appendix to the Joint Operational Program description of the Interreg V A Nord. The material has been studied by content analysis.
While both data sources recognize the environmental, economic, cultural and social resources for development as aiming at a sustainable use of resources, their emphases are different. Where the municipal strategies discuss resources as elements of a good everyday life, the Interreg V A Nord program region description and SWOT analysis tend to emphasize the economic aspects. Location appears as a resource in both document types.