ABSTRACT
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the process of change that started in Central and Eastern Europe created a new situation, one that affected Sweden as well as many other countries. The Baltic Sea regained its position as a link between the countries surrounding it and ceased to be a barrier that effectively separated the eastern and western shores. Sweden all of a sudden had a number of new, close neighbors. Contacts had to be developed with countries that had been difficult even to visit before. Businessmen could see a huge new market opening up. National boundaries do not apply in questions concerning the environment, and new possibilities occurred to solve environmental problems by joining efforts across borders.
