The Pan-European Institute (PEI) (Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

 Pan-Eurooppa Instituutti) is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 research centre which observes the developments within the European economy and business throughout the whole continent. Its main focus is on reviewing changes both in the Baltic Sea region and in neighbouring countries of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, especially in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

, and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

PEI conducts research that constitutes the basis of education and courses provided at the Turku School of Economics

Turku School of Economics

Turku School of Economics is a faculty of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 1977...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. The main interest groups for the Institute are international organisations, Finnish governmental ministries and the Academy of Finland

Academy of Finland

The Academy of Finland is a governmental funding body for scientific research in Finland. It is based in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. Yearly, the Academy administers over 260 million euros to Finnish research activities. Over 5,000 researchers are working on the projects supported by the academy...

, as well as large corporations.

In 2008, the institute celebrated its 20th anniversary by organising a high level conference "Energy Challenges in Northern Europe".

The Pan-European Institute focuses its research activities on the following five themes for the 2004-2009 period:

• Economic and business development in the Baltic Sea region
• Economic relations between the EU and its bordering nations - special attention on Russia
  Russia
  Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
  
  , Kaliningrad
  Kaliningrad
  Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
  
   and Northern Dimension
  Northern Dimension
  The Northern dimension is an initiative in the European Union regarding the cross-border and external policies covering Nordic countries, Baltic states and Russia...
  
  
• FDI inflow into and outflow from Russia
• Regional and social development in the Wider Europe
• SME activities in the EU and its eastern neighbours.

As a part of economic monitoring, the Pan-European Institute follows the economic development of the Baltic States

Baltic states

The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, St. Petersburg, Leningrad

Leningrad

Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

 region and Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...

region. The results are published bimonthly in the Baltic Rim Economies (BRE) review. In addition to these regional reports, there are also a number of expert articles that cover important themes such as economic development, business and environmental issues relating to the Baltic Sea region. Previous writers include ministers, commissioners and business representatives.

Publications of PEI can be downloaded free of charge at the Institute's website.