ABSTRACT
The EU’s participation in the region-building that was initiated by the Nordic states and Germany within the framework of the Baltic and Barents Seas in the early and mid-1990s helped the EU to develop contacts with Poland, the Baltic states and Russia, as well as with Russia’s northwestern regions. These contacts strengthened the bilateral relations that were developing on the basis of the membership applications received from Poland (1994) and the Baltic states (1995), and the negotiations with Russia on the EU-Russian Partnership and Cooperation $JUHHPHQW3&$ZKLFKZDV¿QDOL]HGLQDQGHQWHUHGLQWRIRUFHLQ Moreover, as noted, the Union introduced its Northern Dimension (ND) policy on Finland’s initiative in 1997-8 in order to better coordinate its participation in the regional level activities and the uneven development of its bilateral ties with northern Europe’s states – most of them being members or in line for membership by the mid-1990s, while Russia alone was lined up only as the EU’s partner.
