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
Belarus–Latvia border Belarus–Latvia border The Belarus–Latvia border is of length 172.912 km. In spans from the tripoint with Lithuania to the tripoint with Russia. The current border between the republics of Belarus (CIS member) and Latvia (EU member) was established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and confirmed by an agreement of February 21, 1994 about the establishment of the border, finalized on April 10, 2013 in the agreement about the functioning of the border. For about 16.6 km the border runs along the Daugava River. It also crosses the Lake Rychy and an island in the lake. The May 10,