The COVID-19 pandemic and the border restrictions to which it led brought new insights into Nordic labour market mobility (Giacometti & Wøien Meijer, 2021). Not only did it become clear that some sectors in cross-border municipalities and regions are dependent on labour from the other side of borders, but also that many people in the Nordic Region have taken freedom of movement for granted when establishing a family, studying or working abroad, changing residence or engaging in business activities on the other side of borders.

Overnight, these activities could no longer be taken for granted and for many freedom of movement turned out to be a Potemkin façade. The impact was felt most strongly, but not exclusively, in cross-border regions, where many people found it challenging to cope with the different rules and measures introduced to slow the spread of the virus without any coordination between the Nordic countries. For people having to deal with these obstacles on a daily basis, cracks started to appear in the reality of Nordic cross-border mobility. For some, it was not the first time either – the refugee crisis in 2015 with double controls, ID checks and border controls between Sweden and Denmark was still fresh in the memory.

Another key lesson learned from COVID-19, a more positive one, concerns digitalisation and the remote working tools introduced in many workplaces. Remote working seems likely to be here to stay and can pave the way for hybrid ways of working, which may involve occasional attendance and commuting but also working from home (Randall & Norlén, 2022; Randall et al., 2022a; Randall et al., 2022b). Maintaining Nordic freedom of movement, including in practice, and removing obstacles are, therefore, important for securing a better integrated and sustainable Nordic Region. Access to reliable and comparable statistics on migration and commuting is important to support this development. Moreover, the changing geo-political situation since the Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased support for European and Nordic co-operation, which may stimulate progress toward a more seamless and integrated Nordic labour market.