Publication

This paper describes the Finnish-Russian border as being one of the oldest dividing lines on the European continent, but at the same time the most stable and peaceful border the EU has shared with Russia since 1995. The author details how after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the border became a site and an instrument of increased cross-boundary interaction and institutional innovation, as illustrated by the establishment of the Euregio Karelia in 2000. The paper recalls the historical background of neighborly relations in the Finnish-Russian/Soviet borderlands and explains the factors, actors and mechanisms that have contributed to the partial integration of the frontier. The author describes how the participation of Russian regions in the Northern Dimension has contributed to the growing regionalization of the EU-Russia "strategic partnership" and has demonstrated a possible political trend of "integration without joining" at the EU's external borders.