ABSTRACT
After the end of the Cold War, the Baltic Sea Region developed into a highly dynamic area of cross-border cooperation and transnational networking. This trend was reinforced by the imminent enlargement of the European Union (EU), which increased by ten new members in 2004. Since the Baltic Sea is now surrounded by EU member states (with the sole exception of Russia), European integration appears to offer a real chance to clean it up: it is still endangered by pollution. EU enlargement resulted in a fundamental change in the governance of the Baltic Sea Region, although the new member states had already followed the lead set by Brussels and EU policies in the pre-accession phase.
