ABSTRACT
Whereas Interreg focuses on a broad spectrum of knowledge, ESPON is traditionally
more focused on quantitative scientific knowledge. ESPON is an arena within which epis-
temic communities within research institutions throughout the EU look “to support policy
development and to build a European scientific community in the field of territorial devel-
opment” (ESPON, no date). The Baltic States were initially reluctant to engage with
ESPON and they did not participate in the 2006 Programme due to a lack of national
resources and scepticism regarding the scientific relevance of ESPON data for informing
national policy development.7 Despite all three Baltic States participating in the ESPON
2013 programme at the time of writing, Baltic actors are still not participating in any of the
trans-national project groups responsible for Applied Research Projects and are currently
active in only two Targeted Analysis Projects.8 The dominance of large Scandinavian
research institutes with sufficient expertise, resources and capacity to provide high-
quality analysis of the Baltic States forms one barrier to participation. Other potential
reasons include different priorities and a lack of human and other resources for research,
particularly at sub-national levels. The next section of the paper examines the extent and
nature of the responses of Baltic actors to the consultation process launched by the Euro-
pean Commission Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion (CEC, 2008).9
