Transnational cities implementing EU external aid - the cases of Tampere and Turku

Abstract

Hakutermit: local authorities, European Union, external aid, transnational city, focused interview, narrative analysis The aim of this study is to understand why the local authorities of the European Union (EU) participate in projects, funded by a special programme of the European Commission, in which they are not the final beneficiaries themselves but where the final beneficiary is a less developed city outside the EU. The topic is approached from the point of view of the political actorness of a European transnational city at the turn of the 21st century. The processes of globalisation and Europeanisation are acknowledged as reshaping the arena of international relations. These processes have created a situation where cities are ever more independent actors in transnational relations, often acting local-to-local manner, i.e. local authorities from different nation-states form networks of common action. The empirical material of the study concerns two local-to-local projects funded through the Tacis programme of EU external aid. These are cooperative projects of the cities of Tampere (Finland) and Nizhni Novgorod (Russia) and Turku (Finland) and St. Petersburg (Russia). The projects are approached in the light of general city strategies and official documents, as well as four focused interviews made in both of the Finnish cities. The material is analyzed from the historical-hermeneutic perspective through narrative analysis. The result of the analysis is two "stories from the field" ­ the stories of how Tampere and Turku participated in Tacis projects. According to the analysis, the reasons for the participation of EU local authorities in Tacis projects are manifold. The case of Tampere represented a separate project connected to the strategic goals of the city. The connection to a third, European partner was an important motivating factor. The case of Turku represented a series of three projects, where the reasons for participation varied during cooperation. At the outset the motivating factor was to learn the EU project application techniques; in the long run personal contacts became crucial. In both cases the twinning agreements between the Finnish and Russian local authorities created the basis for action. All in all, the reasons for participation depended on the status of the interviewees. The two cases studies showed that there is a lot of coincidence in the scheme of participation. In the end these projects of international solidarity are connected to the ideology of sustainable development. This could open up interesting perspectives for further studies, which are much needed as the EU external aid remains an understudied area of EU affairs.