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
Latvia–Russia border Jūrmala-Tukuma and Ventspils are also registered as border crossing points. Latvia–Russia border Latvia–Russia border is the state border between Republic of Latvia (EU member) and the Russian Federation (CIS member). The length of the border is 214 km. The access-restricted Border Security Zone of Russia lies along the border on the Russian side. In order to visit this zone, a permit issued by the local FSB department is required (the only exceptions are international border transit points). The Pskov region and Latvia have had historical ties since the founding of the Pskov Republic in the 13th century. From 1925 to