EU-Russia reach deal on Kaliningrad
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The Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN expressed satisfaction that an agreement had been reached, although he said it was "not ideal." (Photo: European Commission)
Russia has accepted the EU proposal for a Facilitated Transit Document (FTD) to travel from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad, leading to an agreement by both sides after months of wrangling for a solution. Russia had demanded visa free travel through Lithuania, as it was supposed to implement its visa-regime from January next year. The EU-Russia deal reached on Monday, however, might lead Lithuania to postpone its full implementation of a visa regime in January, applying instead a "flexible" solution until the FTD’s are in place in 1 July 2003.
Presently, internal passports are sufficient for Kaliningrad residents to cross the border to Lithuania. Russians living in the mainland, on the other hand, can only use the internal passport when they travel with the existing transit train.
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According to the agreement reached at the EU-Russia summit, from 1 July 2003, Russians wanting to pass through Lithuania will need an FTD accompanied by an internal passport. This procedure will continue until end of 2004, where then only Russians presenting an international passport would be able to transit through the EU border. This deal was possible after Russia backed down from its demands to continue using its internal passport until end of 2005.
The FTD will be deemed equivalent to a multiple-entry visa valid for direct transit by land within a limited period of time, issued free of charge or at a low cost. Besides the original envisaged FTD scheme for multiple entry direct transit via all forms of transport by land, there will be an additional possibility of a Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD), for Russian’s intending to do single trips by train through Lithuania’s territory.
Visa-free train to be seen at a later stage
Russia’s proposal for a visa-free non-stop train passing through Lithuania, at the moment appears unlikely, as a decision could only be taken after Lithuania’s accession to the EU. However, the Copenhagen Summit in December will initiate the development of Terms of Reference to be worked out by the Commission in cooperation with Lithuania so as to be able to launch a feasibility study on the issue in 2003.
Readmission agreements
Russia has confirmed its intention to conclude an intergovernmental readmission agreement with Lithuania covering persons of all nationalities, where it should be in place no later than 30 June 2003, before the FTDs start operating.
