Interview with the Mayors of Kolding and Vaxjo

What are your expectations for your own city in connection with the enlargement ?

As you already know, Kolding cooperates closely with a number of cities in the new member countries. The city as well as its citizens and its businesses have known for a long time that natural cooperation partners and sources of inspiration are not necessarily found within the Danish borders. In this respect, conditions will become even better now.

Do you think the identity of your citizens will be more European ?

Identity is something that develops over time, and that goes for the identity of this city as well as for the common European identity. Kolding has a long tradition of getting involved in European and international matters, which is why we feel very European, and I am convinced that this feeling will grow in future.

In what direction do you think EU will develop after the enlargement ?

The European community is a project for democracy and peace. With the enlargement Europe will move even closer together, and I expect the European Union to become an influential political player in the effort to create a new and more stable world for the benefit of our own population and people in the rest of the world

Per Bodker Andersen
Mayor of Kolding, Denmark

What are your expectations for your own city in connection with the enlargement ?

My expectation is that we will see economical growth due to increasing trade with the new EU-members or that Vaxjo special competence in bioenergy will be asked for among the new members. The Baltic countries need to get rid of their dependence of oil and natural gas from Russia and they have a large potential for use of domestic biomass. I hope also that we can import ethanol for vehicle fuel because Sweden lacks production capacity today. This will also of course decrease the emissions of greenhouse gases. I also hope that people from the new member countries will come here and work. Forecasts say that there will be lack oflabour in Sweden in the future, especially in the public sector.

Do you think the identity of your citizens will be more European ?

Only time can make the Swedes Europeans.

In what direction do you think EU will develop after the enlargement ?

I think and hope that with so many countries, EU will become a looser organisation, more cooperation and free trade than common laws and taxes, except for the environmental area where common laws and taxation are necessary to obtain a sustainable development. Asylum is another area where common regulations are needed. I don't think that the very different EU-countries will benefit from for example common financial politics.

Carl-Olof Bengtsson
Mayor of Vaxjo, Sweden