Has the local government reform resulted in more internationally oriented municipalities in Denmark? The question has received major attention, and this article will try to clarify the matter.
Many people were of the opinion that the new and larger municipalities would be better equipped to prioritise international issues. We all acknowledge the fact that increasing globalisation also affects municipalities in areas such as economic development, labour market, education and environment and most people agree that active interaction is required to obtain results.
What is the overall picture if we look at all the 98 municipalities in Denmark?
During the first half of 2008 LGDK's EU Office collected information about international activities in the new municipalities through brief telephone interviews with those responsible for international activities in all the municipalities, i.e. a response rate of 100%.
Different Activities
On the basis of this contact with the municipalities, LGDK has issued a list in which each municipality has made a brief description of its international activities. 91 municipalities are currently included in the list which is available (in Danish language) on LGDK's homepage: www.kl.dk/international
If you read through the descriptions, you will find that it is impossible to make a clear definition of international activities in the municipalities.
What the municipalities do varies considerably in terms of purpose, specific action area, organisation of the activities in the municipality, and countries involved in the cooperation.
72 Municipalities Have a Written Foundation
LGDK's survey during the first half of 2008 showed that 72 municipalities have a written foundation for their international activities. As indicated in the fact box, it could be an international strategy, a local council decision, a town-twinning policy, etc.
28 municipalities have adopted or are in the process of preparing an international strategy or policy covering an overall and cross-functional decision regarding international activities for all the administrations and institutions in the municipality.
A local council decision (21 municipalities) is typically less comprehensive and detailed than an international strategy or policy and often defines which twin-towns the municipality should have.
Then, there are a number of municipalities (14) where twin-towns are the main activity and where a policy or an action plan forms the basis for the town-twinning cooperation.
"Other written foundation" includes municipalities (9) that have adopted a strategy for international activities in the local school system.
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What is the basis for
international activities in the municipalities?
Number of
municipalities
28: International strategy or policy
21: Local council decision
14: Town-twinning policy
9: Other written foundation
13: No formal basis
13: Don't know
98: Total
Note: The figures are based on information collected during the first half of 2008 and may have changed since then. |
As one may know, 66 municipalities in Denmark have been created through mergers. In many cases these mergers have given rise to preparation of a written foundation for international activities. In the 32 municipalities where local boundaries remain unchanged, they have typically proceeded using the same basis as before.
Town-twinning as the Central Element
Town-twinning cooperation is still the central element of international activities in many municipalities. However, the structural reform has resulted in a significant reduction of the total number of twin-towns.
86 Danish municipalities have twin-towns – a total of 502. Ten municipalities have for various reasons decided not to have twin-towns. 502 twin-towns are almost half as many as before the local government reform where 271 municipalities had a total of approx. 900 twin-towns.
This reduction is attributable to the fact that many of the merged municipalities did not want to take over all the twin-towns that the former municipalities had.
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Location of Danish twin-towns
104: Sweden
81: Norway
64: Finland
55: Germany
27: Poland
21: Iceland
18: Greenland
15: Latvia
15: United Kingdom
11: Hungary
91: Other countries
502: Total
Note: These figures are based on information collected during the first half of 2008 and may have changed since then. |
Under the previous local government structure, town-twinning cooperation was not equally active in all the 900 twin-towns and inactive relationships have therefore been discontinued.
It is a significant reduction of the number of twin-towns, but you can look at it in another way. The former 271 municipalities had an average of three twin-towns each and the new merged municipalities have an average of five twin-towns each.
Danish municipalities still favour Nordic countries and Northern Europe for their international cooperation and a Top Ten of the 900 twin-towns under the old local government structure and a Top Ten of the current twin-towns include the same ten countries with the exception of Estonia which has had to give way to the UK.
Contents of the Cooperation
Many municipalities have started developing and innovating town-twinning cooperation and have increased focus on activities that create sustainable results for the benefit of the municipality.
You could say that people-to-people contact has been a strong element in the town-twinning cooperation such as contact between schools, associations, artists, athletes, etc. These are activities that many municipalities wish to hold on to.
But many municipalities are also interested in introducing other activities in the town-twinning cooperation such as trade and industry, tourism, economy and exchange of experience between administrations in the twin-towns.
Even though town-twinning cooperation is a traditional form of international cooperation, other types of co-operation are gaining ground such as time limited projects with municipalities abroad (possibly with EU-support). Some municipalities participate in international network organisations and there are also examples of informal contacts between municipalities in Denmark and abroad.
Even though town-twinning cooperation is a central element in many municipalities, it seems likely that this type of cooperation will be combined with other types of international activities in the future.
Inspiration Across Local Boundaries
In spite of the hectic activities involved in the implementation of the local government reform, LGDK has noted a major interest in international activities in the municipalities.
The variation in international activities from one municipality to the other makes exchange of ideas and experience the obvious approach to further development.