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
Finland–Sweden border both directions. Because both Finland and Sweden are part of the Schengen area, the border may be crossed anywhere. If the traveller is carrying goods to be declared through customs, the border may still be crossed anywhere, but the traveller must contact customs to declare his/her goods. Through the entire river border, near the eastern shore, the Finnish national road 21/European route E8 runs between Tornio and Kilpisjärvi. The Swedish national road 99 runs near the western shore along most of the border. Bridges across the river border can be found in Karesuvanto/Karesuando (road 959/E45), Muonio (road 954/404), Kolari (road