Estonian academics see both opportunity and danger in idea of the United Nordic Federation

Tallinn could form part of one of Northern Europe's main regions of growth, stretching from Copenhagen through Stockholm to Helsinki and the Estonian capital, says Jyrki Käkönen, professor of International Relations at Tallinn University. Speaking to Estonia's biggest daily newspaper Postimees, Käkönen calls this axis the 'Nordic Blue Banana'.

The idea of a United Nordic Federation 20 to 30 years down the line, which author Gunnar Wetterberg has labelled a 'realistic utopia', has earned a great deal of attention in Estonia. The online version of the Postimees newspaper dedicated pages to it and surveyed scientists in Estonia about the potential impact of such a federation on the Baltic States.

"If Estonia was sidelined, it could become truly marginalised," said Käkönen. "In which case it would be left outside the Copenhagen-Helsinki axis looking in."

At the same time, the professor feels that it is more than possible that the United Nordic Federation would not only include Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, but also the Baltic States. "That said, if you think about developments after the Cold War, the picture is a little more pessimistic," he said. "The Nordic countries weren't particularly interested in integrating the Baltic States into the Nordic Council, after all, but instead set up the Council of the Baltic Sea States."