Север и рынок. 2014, N 3.

The interviewees claim that different national systems, customs regulations and taxes are among the obstacles for the companies to get involved in CBC, particularly when it comes to SMEs. In the last decades important improvements in common legislation between Sweden and Norway were introduced to overcome these challenges (Medeiros 2010). Most o f the business actors in the border area are SMEs. The interviewees note that for SMEs Interreg projects can be too complicated and bureaucratic to get involved in. Large administrative burden o f the Interrreg projects is often seen as an obstacle for applying for funding. It was particularly emphasized by the interviewed stakeholders in Kiruna, while it seems to be less of a drawback for the actors in Narvik. The local actors in Kiruna note that there are no common development strategies across the border, neither is there a strategy in the municipality of Kiruna on how to use EU funding. At the moment there is no big political interest in the municipality in fostering CBC. The move o f the city has been the main issue on the agenda of the local authorities. The city has neither resources nor time to work with other types o f projects in the border area. Moreover, there is a lack o f awareness about the project work. According to the interviewed stakeholders, there is a generally low interest among the Norwegian companies to cooperate with the Swedish and vice versa. This suggests that there is a low awareness o f added value and possibilities related to CBC. In addition, the entrepreneurs often do not realize that their competences may be valuable on the other side o f the border. Underdeveloped infrastructure in the border area is another factor, which affects different forms o f CBC, including tourism development. Last but not least, the interviewed actors note that the cultural difference between the two countries are bigger than one might think. Norwegians mention that Swedes are much more formal, hierarchical and systematic, while Norwegians are more informal in planning and execution. Therefore differences in business culture hinder CBC to some extent. Future perspectives on CBC The municipal actors in both counties have positive views on future development o f Kiruna and Narvik. Already today many investors are turning to the Northern Europe and this trend is expected to continue in future. There are huge business opportunities in connection with moving of the town and building a ‘new’ Kiruna. There are big opportunities related to increasing CBC in Kiruna-Narvik border area within different fields. O f particular value for the Norwegian side would be strengthening the cooperation in the mining industry, since Sweden has valuable experience and competences. Other potential areas for future cooperation identified by the actors in Kiruna and Narvik are: - Cross-border electricity cooperation. Provision of electricity from Nordland to industry and private homes in Kiruna; - Exchange of experience in the field of energy-efficient building in cold climate; - Development o f cross-border transport/logistics plans (e.g. Barents logistics) When it comes to project work, the local actors emphasized the need to create something more stable than just a network or project in order to keep the cooperation alive after the project is over. References: Futurum (2014) Utvikling i Narvik Regionen. Accessed: 2014-02-10 http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=sv&js=n&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF- 8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww .futurum.no% 2Fartikkel_vis.asp%3Fkat%3D3%26aid% 3D8&act=url HRS (2014) Halogaland Ressursselskap- Milj 0 . http://www.hrs.no/hrs-miljo/ 118