A German view on the Baltic Sea region

The authors show that for Germany the Baltic Sea trade is of limited importance due to the only small markets of the neighborhood countries and, as a consequence, the little weight of the Baltic Sea region in world trade. They reveal that the region is rather heterogeneous in an economic sense which is reflected by a North-South income gap. Accordingly, the economic interests of the Baltic Sea countries are diverging: The Nordic countries use the Baltic Sea as an efficient gateway to the markets in Central and Western Europe as well as to overseas markets. The Southern Baltic Rim regions benefit from this hub function by related transport services and infrastructure investments, whereas the economic integration of the Baltic Sea region itself lacks priority.