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 On 16 January 1945, the area was transferred from the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Pskov Oblast and renamed Pytalovsky District. Ever since Latvia regained independence, Latvia claimed the previous Latvian territory, on the basis of the 1920 Treaty of Riga. In 2007 a treaty on the Russian-Latvian state border was signed and ratified, and the Pytalovsky District remains part of Russia. Passage of the state border between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Latvia is determined on the basis of arrangements. According to the agreement on the Russian-Latvian State Border, the state border between Latvia and Russia starting