Region

In recent years, the opening of borders and especially the expansion of the European Union have lead to comprehensive economic change on the Baltic coast, resulting in the formation of new trade relationships and trade flows. While in old Europe, the north-south flows led almost exclusively through Western Europe, new transport axes have now developed. The shortest route from Rostock on the Baltic coast to Trieste on the Adriatic is now less than 1,300 km!

Along the existing north-south transport axes (such as TEN 1 and TEN 22), economic development and interrelations are to be promoted, turning this north-south corridor into a highly competitive region on the world stage. It is around 2,000 km long in total and includes:

• 11 Nations
• 7 Capital Cities
• 115 Million Inhabitants
• 25 % of the Population of the EU
• 15 Ports
• 300 Universities
• 75 Clusters

The north-south axis links the leading European innovation regions of Scandinavia with the regions of Central Europe experiencing a wave of reindustrialization and the dynamic shipping points of the Mediterranean, so crucial to world trade.