Brussels, 14/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - In the eve of the special meeting on Kaliningrad, organised by the European Parliament on Tuesday (in the presence of Pat Cox, European Parliament President, Dimitri Rogozine, Special Representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin for Kaliningrad, and the Polish and Lithuanian representatives), Lithuania has made a synthesis of its official position regarding civil and military transit to and from Kaliningrad: (1) the government of Vilnius "denounces the Provisional Agreement between Lithuania and Russia (…)granting visa-free regime privileges to nationals of the Russian Federation, residents of the Kaliningrad region, when travelling to Lithuania," and "is firmly committed to implementing all the requirements of the acquis and becoming a full-fledged participant of the Schengen area without any reservations and exceptions"; (2) welcoming the European Commission proposal of establishing a "document facilitating transit" for people frequently travelling to and from Kaliningrad (see EUROPE of 19 September, p.7), Lithuania considers that this document "should apply equally when travelling from the Kalinigrad Region to the Russian Federation through the territory of Lithuanua, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and any other present and future Schengen country"; (3) the Russian proposal of introducing direct trains linking the enclave to the rest of the Russian territory with visa-exemptions for travellers must only be discussed "once Lithuania has become a full-fledged member of the Schengen agreement, as (…)the implementation of this idea will require to amend the Schengen Agreement, and for this reason Lithuania should participate in the negotiations on the amendments of the agreement as a full-fledged member.". The Government of Vilnius also calls for the rapid conclusion of border demarcation agreements and readmission agreements between Russia and Lithuania, and to accelerate certain administrative aspects including the issuance of passports to Kaliningrad residents.
The issue, which the General Affairs Council discussed on 30 September (see EUROPE of 2 October, p.9), will against be discussed by the General Affairs Council of 21 and 22 October, so as to reach a common position at European Council of 24 and 25 October, to be presented to Russia at the EU-Russia Summit of 11 November.