Baltic region

[[File:Baltic Sea map.png|thumb|Countries surrounding the Baltic Sea]]

The '''Baltic Sea Region''', alternatively the '''Baltic Rim countries''' (or simply the '''Baltic Rim'''), and the '''Baltic Sea countries/states''', refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 July 2024 |title=Baltic Sea |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-Sea |access-date=9 July 2024 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region |url=https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/policy/cooperation/macro-regional-strategies/baltic-sea_en |access-date=9 July 2024 |website=European Commission}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2024 |title=Programme Factsheet |url=https://interreg-baltic.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2024.01.08_IBSR_FactSheet.pdf |access-date=9 July 2024 |website=Interreg Baltic Sea Region}}</ref> Unlike the "Baltic states", the Baltic region includes all countries that border the sea.

== Etymology == {{Main|Baltic Sea#Etymology and nomenclature{{!}}Baltic (name)}}

The first to name it the ''Baltic Sea'' ({{langx|la|Mare Balticum}}) was 11th century German chronicler Adam of Bremen.

== Denotation == Depending on the context the ''Baltic Sea Region'' might stand for:

* The countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. * The group of countries that are members of the inter-governmental ''Baltic Assembly'' and ''Baltic Council of Ministers'',<ref name="Unity">{{cite book |last1=Republic of Estonia |last2=Republic of Latvia |last3=Republic of Lithuania |title=Declaration on Unity and Co-operation by the Republic of Estonia, Republic of Latvia and Republic of Lithuania |url=https://vm.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/web-static/409/2003_11_28_BMN_pohikiri_allkirjadega_eng.pdf |publisher=Council of Baltic States |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507094857/https://vm.ee/sites/default/files/content-editors/web-static/063/1990_05_12_deklaratsioon_Balti_yhtsusest_ja_koostoost.pdf |archive-date=7 May 2019 |date=1994}}</ref> and generally referred to by the shorthand, Baltic states:<ref name="EB-Baltic">{{cite book |last1=Misiunas |first1=Romuald J |last2=Bater |first2=James H |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=25 May 2006 |edition=Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states |access-date=2 June 2021 |language=en |chapter=Baltic states |archive-date=11 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611102707/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-37264/Baltic-states |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LatviaFA">{{cite web |last1=Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia |title=Co-operation among the Baltic States |url=http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/eu/BalticSeaRegion/BalticStates/ |website=Republic of Latvia |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204065713/http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/eu/BalticSeaRegion/BalticStates/ |archive-date=4 December 2008}}</ref><ref name="EstoniaFA">{{Cite web |last1=Republic of Estonia |url=http://vm.ee/en/baltic-cooperation|title = Baltic Cooperation |website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=28 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506193534/http://www.vm.ee/en/baltic-cooperation|archive-date=6 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. * Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, exclaved from the remainder of Russia.<ref name="GSEn_ПЭР">«The Baltic region includes the Baltic republics and the Kaliningrad region of the RSFSR "» — {{GSEn| автор = Гербов В. Р.|статья= Прибалтийский экономический район| том = 20| страницы = 607}}</ref> * Historic East Prussia and the historical lands of Livonia, Courland and Estonia (Swedish Estonia and Russian Estonia).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} * The former Baltic governorates of Imperial Russia: Today's Estonia and Latvia (excluding parts of modern Eastern Latvia that were part of Vitebsk Governorate).<ref>{{cite book|last=Gibson|first=Catherine|doi=10.1093/oso/9780192844323.003.0001|pages=6–7|date=29 March 2022|title=Geographies of Nationhood: Cartography, Science, and Society in the Russian Imperial Baltic|isbn=9780192844323|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> * The countries on the historical British trade route through the Baltic Sea, i.e. including the Scandinavian Peninsula (Sweden and Norway).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} * The negotiating members of the Grand Baltic Entente also known as the Baltic League: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Townsend |first1=Mary Evelyn |title=The Baltic States |date=September 1921 |publisher=The Institute of international education}}</ref> * Members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS),<ref name="ecCBSS">{{cite web |last1=European Commission |author1-link=European Commission |title=CBSS - Council of Baltic Sea States |url=https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/organisation/cbss-council-baltic-sea-states_en |website=knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu |publisher=European Union |access-date=2 June 2021 |quote=The Council of the Baltic Sea States is an overall political forum for regional inter-governmental cooperation. The Members of the Council are the eleven states of the Baltic Sea Region as well as the European Commission. |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215704/https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/organisation/cbss-council-baltic-sea-states_en |url-status=live }}</ref> are the countries{{efn|State members of CBSS: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Council of the Baltic Sea States |title=CBSS - About Us |url=https://cbss.org/organisation/about-us/ |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=10 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510051511/https://cbss.org/organisation/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} with shorelines along the Baltic Sea, in addition to Norway, Iceland and the European Commission. * The islands of the Euroregion B7 Baltic Islands Network, which includes the islands and archipelagos Åland (autonomous region of Finland), Bornholm (Denmark), Gotland (Sweden), Hiiumaa (Estonia), Öland (Sweden), Rügen (Germany), and Saaremaa (Estonia).<ref name="b7charter">{{cite news |last1=B7 Steering Committee |title=Charter of the B7 |url=https://discomap.eea.europa.eu/map/Data/Milieu/OURCOAST_098_Baltic/OURCOAST_098_Baltic_Doc2_BalticSevenCharter.pdf |access-date=30 June 2021 |work=B7 Baltic Islands Network |date=8 September 2004 |archive-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614094138/https://discomap.eea.europa.eu/map/Data/Milieu/OURCOAST_098_Baltic/OURCOAST_098_Baltic_Doc2_BalticSevenCharter.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> * On historic Scandinavian and German maps, the ''Balticum'' sometimes includes only the historically or culturally German-dominated lands, or provinces, of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Latgale (corresponding to modern Estonia and Latvia), East Prussia, Samogitia (corresponding to modern Western Lithuania) as well as sometimes Pomerania, Kashubia, while the historically less-Germanized Eastern Lithuania is occasionally excluded.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} *In geology, the Baltic Shield includes Fennoscandia, parts of northwestern Russia and the northern Baltic Sea.<ref name="EB2004">{{cite book |last1=Dunbar |first1=Moira |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=2004 |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic#ref57843 |language=en |chapter=Arctic: Geology |access-date=30 June 2021 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824100437/https://www.britannica.com/place/Arctic#ref57843 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Beck2008">{{cite journal |last1=Beckholmen |first1=Monica |last2=Tirén |first2=Sven A |title=The geological history of the Baltic Sea: A review of the literature and investigation tools |journal=Swedish Radiation Safety Authority - Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten |date=September 2008 |id=Report number: 2009:21 |url=https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/963502 |access-date=30 June 2021 |issn=2000-0456 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181220/https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/963502 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Notes == {{Notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

== Further reading == * Norbert Götz. [https://balticworlds.com/spatial-politics-fuzzy-regionalism/ "Spatial Politics and Fuzzy Regionalism: The Case of the Baltic Sea Area."] ''Baltic Worlds'' 9 (2016) 3: 54–67. * {{cite book | title=The Baltic Sea region: cultures, politics, societies | publisher=Baltic University Press | publication-place=Uppsala | date=2002 | isbn=978-91-973579-8-2 | editor-first= Witold |editor-last=Maciejewski}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{official website|https://cbss.org}} of the Council of the Baltic Sea States * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080208170859/http://itameri.kyamk.fi/e.html The Baltic Sea Information Centre] (archived 8 February 2008) * [http://balticsea-region-strategy.eu/ EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy] (EUSBSR) – a strategy aiming to accelerate the integration of the region * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100610233030/http://www.balticuniv.uu.se/index.php The Baltic University Programme] – a university network focused on a sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region (archived 10 June 2010) * [https://www.vasab.org/ Baltic Sea Region Spatial Planning Initiative VASAB] * [http://eu.baltic.net/ Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007–2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412230308/http://eu.baltic.net/ |date=12 April 2021 }} * [https://portal.vifanord.de/ Vifanord] – a digital library that provides scientific information on the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as the Baltic region as a whole.

Category:Baltic region Region Category:Regions of Europe