Northern Dimension to include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, the importance of the Northern Dimension has increased considerably: eight EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden) surround the Baltic Sea, and the EU’s shared border with Russia has lengthened. Recent years have seen far-reaching changes in the geopolitical map of northern Europe. The Baltic States regained their independence in 1991. Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1995, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in 2004. These events greatly increased the Northern and Baltic “presence” of the EU, and substantially lengthened the common border shared by the
Poland–Russia border Poland–Russia border The modern Poland–Russia border is a nearly straight-line division between the Republic of Poland (European Union (EU) member) and the Russian Federation (CIS member) exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast, a region not connected to the Russian mainland. It is currently long. Its current location and size were decided as part of the aftermath of World War II. In 2004 it became part of the boundary of the European Union and Commonwealth of Independent States. The history of the border between Poland and Russia can be traced to the early history of both nations, with one of the earliest notable