EU's Shifting Borders Problematic for Kaliningrad

On May 1, when ten new countries join the European Union, the borders of the bloc will shift to the east and south and they will be under close scrutiny. One of the conditions laid down by the powers in Brussels was the strict control of the EU's new external borders.

For Lithuania, this has proved to be particularly difficult, as the residents of Kaliningrad -- the Russian enclave caught between Poland and Lithuania that was once part of Germany -- used the Baltic country as a transit route to mainland Russia. Until the summer of 2003, this was possible without special documents. But then a transit agreement was put in place that provides for so-called "facilitated transit documents" -- euphemistic language for what is basically a visa.

Those traveling between Moscow and Kaliningrad can take train number 149. The 1,330 kilometer journey takes approximately 22 hours.

The train itself hasn’t lost much of its Soviet-era charm: its kept its tacky curtains, the windows that can’t be opened despite unbearable heat within the carriage, and the staff who keep the train clean with nothing but elbow grease and corn brooms. The culinary choices on board also hearken back to Soviet days: dry, tasteless cookies and tea drunk from the Samovar -- still heated by coal. The ambience is pure pre-perestroika Russia.

Most of the passengers travelling the route are business people, like Zoja and Nadja from Kaliningrad who travel once or twice a month to Moscow.

For more than eight months now, Zoja and Nadja have been travelling with the so-called FRTD -- the facilitated rail transit document. It’s made things a bit more complicated.

Passengers face nerve wracking vetting

"You just have to come and buy the ticket at the train station 28 hours before departure," muses Zoja and the train chugs on. "And then you’re told whether you can get on the train or not. It’s a bit nerve racking because you have to be very attentive, spell your name correctly. Otherwise you’ll have problems on the Lithuanian border."

In the next wagon sits Sergeij, a doctor from Kaliningrad coming back from Moscow where he attended a training course. He says he understands the need for controls and special documents.

"The only inconvenience is when you have to leave urgently. You always have to buy the ticket 28 hours in advance because the Lithuanians need time to issue the transit documents. The Lithuanian consular agent then comes on the train. He’s very polite and gives you the documents."

No documents? No train ride.

Mindaugas Paulukas is one of these consular agents. He has a list of all passengers on the train and hands out the FRTD travel documents during the trip. On average, there is about one passenger on every train who hasn’t qualified for the FRTD and ends up being "detrained," as the Russians call it.

"The main problem is that people don’t have valid passports," Paulukas said. "Most frequently it’s the soldiers from the Russian military who don’t seem to understand the need for transit documents and they are sometimes aggressive. But most people cry or offer money."

"The reactions of the people are not really surprising -- you would have the same reaction if you had to get off the train -- especially if you’re coming from the very far regions of Russia, such as Siberia for example. It’s not always easy but these reactions are actually quite human," he said.

After an hour and a half of controls at the Lithuanian-Russian border, and another 150 kilometers, the train finally reaches Kaliningrad. The trip is long and exhausting and yet the transit agreement seems to suit all sides involved.

EU neighbors could leave Kaliningrad behind

More worrying in the long term is that Kaliningrad might fall far behind its Baltic neighbors once they join the European Union. At the beginning of 2003, the average wage in the Kaliningrad region was about €125 a month -- roughly half of that in Lithuania and a third of the average wage in Poland. There are other problems too. Corruption and criminality in the enclave are rampant. HIV/AIDS rates are said to be ten times higher than in neighboring Lithuania.

Increasing cooperation with Kaliningrad is thus a clear priority for the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis. "We would like to avoid some kind of black spot inside the European Union. If you have very poor people there, very low social and economic level -- you will have big tensions on the border," Valionis told DW-WORLD.

A developed region benefits everyone

"Even different prices for cigarettes and fuel for example would create problems for Lithuania. So we would like to have a well developed region more or less at the same level as Poland and Lithuania. Only in this case, can we co-operate, can we be open for trade, open for cultural exchange and people to people contacts and so on."

The European Union can’t afford to have a black spot within its borders. Russia, for its part, should be worried about Kaliningrad falling far behind its neighbors. The downward spiral could prompt people in the enclave to loosen ties with the Russian economy and seek closer links with those of the EU countries. Viktor Tschernyschov who writes for the monthly German-speaking newspaper Königsberger Express fears the enclave is not really a priority for Moscow.

"Moscow has much more important problems at the moment. After all we’re just one of over 80 regions in the Russian Federation -- and, on top of that, the smallest."

The people from Kaliningrad travel 14 times more than their fellow Russians from the mainland. Surrounded by the enlarged EU, they might be tempted to take the road to Europe and go to Vilnius, Warsaw or even Berlin – all cities far closer than their capital Moscow. Providing, of course, they have a visa.