ABSTRACT
The five Nordic countries and the three Baltic States are now closely interlinked via trade, investment, the mobility of people, and finance. They are sometimes referred to as the Nordic-Baltic region or the Nordic-Baltic Eight. From an economic point of view, European integration is important for the Nordic countries and the Baltic States, as their economies largely—albeit to varying degrees—depend upon trade of goods and services with European Union (EU) member states, and thus upon access to the EU internal market. Despite their differing levels of European integration, all the Nordic countries and the Baltic States are participants in both the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area. In addition to economic and security benefits from European integration, all the Nordic countries and Baltic States except Finland and Sweden are members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). For the Baltic’s, EU membership was to provide long term prosperity, with NATO membership providing military protection and security.
