the emergence of new dividing lines in Europe following EU enlargement. With the enlargement of the Union on 1 May 2004 to include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, the importance of the Northern Dimension has increased considerably: eight EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden) surround the Baltic Sea, and the EU's shared border with Russia has lengthened. History Recent years have seen far-reaching changes in the geopolitical map of northern Europe. The Baltic States regained their independence in 1991. Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1995, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in 2004. These events greatly increased the Northern and Baltic “presence” of the EU, and substantially lengthened the common border shared by the EU and the Russian Federation. It was imperative to address constructively the new challenges and opportunities which these changes created. The Northern Dimension as an important topic for EU policy was first recognized at the Luxembourg European Council in December 1997. In the years which followed, the concept became more concrete. The Vienna European Council in December 1998 adopted a Commission Communication on a Northern Dimension for the policies of the Union. Six months later, in Cologne, the European Council adopted Guidelines for the Implementation of the Northern Dimension. In November 1999, the Finnish EU Presidency held a Ministerial Conference on the Northern Dimension, where an Inventory of current activities under the Northern Dimension was adopted. The Helsinki European Council in December 1999 invited the Commission to prepare a Northern Dimension Action Plan, and the Feira European Council in June 2000 subsequently adopted this first Action Plan for the Northern Dimension in the external and cross-border policies of the European Union, 2001-2003. Also a new dimension of this complex relationship is emerging with the melting of the Arctic because of climate change. Melting of sea ice leads to newly accessible natural resources which could cause power struggle. External links Information page (www.northerndimension.info) EU´s home page for Northern Dimension Home page of Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership Home page of Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being Home page of Northern Dimension Partnership on Transportation and Logistics Home page of Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture Politics of the European Union Northern Europe Politics of Russia Economy of Russia Government of the Arctic