Север и рынок. 2014, N 3.

and SAS became the only operator. In these conditions tourism actors in Norrbotten see great potential in developing cross-border cooperation activities. Social and institutional cooperation also takes place in the border region to some extent, including education and culture cooperation, which has a positive impact on the region. According to the representative from the local administration in Narvik, strong ties exist between the two towns when it comes to sports cooperation, especially ice hockey. These relations are highly valuable for improving professional skills o f the players, but also getting to know your neighbor. CBC within the Sami community has been particularly strong in the border area. The Sami people mention in the interviews that cooperation is a natural thing for Sami due to their common identity. Interreg IVA Nord6 enabled to extend the cooperation activities and the partners felt that through Interreg they had attained some kind of self-rule since they could decide themselves on the money spent. Overall, despite some good examples o f CBC, its extent has been quite limited. CBC between business actors and enterprises is rather weak. CBC between North o f Sweden and Finland is more advanced. One o f the reasons is that both countries are the EU member states. Moreover, the interviewed actors from Kiruna note that the cooperation is easier due to long tradition of cross-border commerce and due to the fact that the countries have more specific and concrete cooperation objectives (e.g. developing the competences in the mining industries). Another factor in favour o f cooperation with Finland is better physical accessibility, whereas there is only one road connecting Kiruna and Narvik. Positive and negative aspects o f the proximity to the border Interviewed actors from Kiruna and Narvik stress that proximity to the border has a positive influence on the development of both towns. The amount o f cross-border shopping is quite high in the region, which is triggered by significantly higher prices on commodities and services in Norway in comparison to Sweden. Proximity to the border enables individuals from Narvik to do shopping in Abisko or Kiruna. Other industries, such as car repair shops in Norrbotten, are also using the border to their advantage. Some tourist destinations in the border area, such as Risksgransen ski resort and Abisko national park in Sweden are highly appreciated by the Norwegians. Their proximity to Narvik helps to ensure steady flow o f the Norwegian tourists throughout the whole year. Closeness to the neighbour with a high purchasing power is an additional advantage for the Swedes. Proximity to the border creates preconditions for increased mobility o f labour and commuting. The wider labour market gives opportunities for people to get jobs. This mainly refers to young people from Norrbotten and other part o f Sweden working in Narvik in hotel and restaurant business. The proximity to the border enables to get expertise and knowledge from a neighbouring country, which is not used to the full extent in Kiruna-Narvik area today. In Nordland county there is a need for competences in mining and engineering that are out there in Norrbotten. Norrbotten county could in turn learn more about the development within oil and gas sectors from the Norwegians. Exacerbating housing supply shortage at Riksgransen is among the negative aspects of the proximity to the border brought up by the Swedish interviewees, since the Norwegians buy flats, houses and summer cottages in this area. Among other negative aspects of the proximity to the border is drug smuggling, which happens in both directions (Norway - Sweden and Sweden-Norway). What are the main challenges fo r cooperation ? 6 Interreg IV A Nord has a sub-programme called Sapmi 117