Northern Europe with Estonia and Finland topping the list among the OECD countries in Europe. Northern Europe Northern Europe is the general term for the geographical region in Europe that is approximately north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Nations usually included within this region are Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, and less often the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, northern Germany, northern Belarus and northwest Russia. Narrower definitions may be based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology. A broader definition would include the area north of the Alps.
2012 European Curling Championships – Women's tournament to advance to the final. Latvia moved up to the semifinal with a win over Austria in the page playoffs, and defeated Estonia in the semifinal to advance to the final. Austria defeated Estonia in the bronze medal game with a score of 8–5, while Norway's winning streak was broken with a 7–4 loss to Latvia. Latvia and Norway advance to the Group A competitions, replacing Finland and Hungary, and Belarus and Slovakia were relegated to the Group C competitions. Latvia were scheduled to play Germany in the World Challenge Games, but qualified to the world championships automatically as hosts.