The NEBI Area Ten Years Later

The fall of the Berlin Wall, the German reunification and the collapse of the Soviet Union leading to the creation of the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania suddenly created entirely new conditions for the political, economic and social development in the North European and Baltic Sea area, i.e. the NEBI area.1 The mental map of the area was suddenly widened to encompass the entire region rather than just the Western or the Eastern half.2 Optimism and newly awakened visions of a bright future pointed to a Baltic region that was characterised by fast economic development, co-operation, trade, investments and a free flow of people and ideas. The mediaeval network of Hanseatic cities was launched as a symbol — and sometimes even as the core — of the coming integration. Like the rest of Europe, the NEBI region was to re-emerge ‘whole and free.’