Jan Nielsen

Spatial Development and Planning between ‘High’ and ‘Low’ Politics: Interreg II C in the Baltic Sea Region

Nothing could be more true than this sober observation found in the proposal for the Baltic Sea Region Interreg II C Operational Programme (BSR/OP) sent by Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden to the European Commissions DG XVI in February-March 1997: ‘At present, a considerable amount of activities are going on between countries in the Baltic Sea Region at national and sub-national level.’ This particular quotation refers explicitly to activities concerned with regional policy, spatial development and planning but it could easily be extended to cover the entire complex of ‘high’ and ‘low’ political manoeuvrings which have the Baltic Sea region (BSR) as their focus of interest in the present period.