Brussels, 24/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - Members of the EP civil liberties committee (LIBE) approved, on 23 November, the proposal aimed at including the region of Kaliningrad and several Polish districts in the 2006 regulation on local cross-border traffic, allowing the Russian enclave to be considered as an EU border zone. This will allow Poland to negotiate a bilateral agreement with Russia so that those living on the borders of Kaliningrad may enter Poland without requiring a visa, within a border zone of 30km-50km.
On 27 October, EU27 home ministers had already approved the European Commission's proposal aimed at facilitating movements of people living within the Kaliningrad enclave, who regularly need to cross the border with Poland. However, they had wished to indicate, in a statement made with the Commission, that this agreement applied to only one specific case - the enclave of Kaliningrad - and could under no circumstances be used as a precedent for other zones and regions. (SP/transl.jl)