From the beginning of 2019, the Northern Dimension Institute led by the Aalto University's Center for markets in Transition (CEMAT) is leading an EC co-funded NDI Think Tank Action.

The Northern Dimension is intended to promote security and stability in the region, as well as helping build a safe, clean, and accessible environment for all people in the north.

Besides, the Northern Dimension also has the objectives of addressing the challenges arising from uneven regional development, and helping avoid the emergence of new dividing lines in Europe following EU enlargement.

With the enlargement of the Union on 1 May 2004 to include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, the importance of the Northern Dimension has increased considerably: eight EU Member States (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden) surround the Baltic Sea, and the EU's shared border with Russia has lengthened.

The Northern Dimension as an important topic for EU policy was first recognized at the Luxembourg European Council in December 1997.