The Northern European Language Network (NELN) is the result of an initiative for cooperation in the region that began at an event hosted by the Nordic Translation and Interpreting Forum in Malmö, Sweden in November 2022. The network welcomes any language association for language services companies and freelancers in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

The new regional network counts as its founding members the Swedish Association of Translation and Interpreting companies, the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL), the Association of Estonian Translation Companies (ETBL), Language Experts (the Finnish association that recently negotiated minimum rates for self-employed audiovisual translators), Estonian Association of Masters in Conference Interpreting and Translation, Finnish Language Service Providers (SKY) organization, the Swedish Association of Professional Translators (SFÖ), the Danish Association of Certified Translators and Interpreters (DACTI), and the Association of Lithuanian Translation Companies. 

The Finnish Language Service Providers organization is the current host for the network’s meetings, and the Swedish Association of Translation and Interpreting companies will be the host during the second semester of 2023.

Eha Mäesalu from the Estonian Association of Masters in Conference Interpreting and Translation (ETML) said in a press release that “establishing contacts with other associations in the region and sharing best practices is very important,” and that “We are especially pleased to see LSP and freelancer organizations working together.”