Kaliningrad Study

Kaliningrad in Europe Kaliningrad in Europe A study commissioned by the Council of Europe Edited by Mr Bartosz Cichocki Linguistic Editing œ Mr Paul Holtom, Mrs Catherine Gheribi This study has been drafted by a group of independent experts at the initiative of the Committee of Advisers on the Development of Transfrontier Co-operation in Central and Eastern Europe, an advisory body established by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Although every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this study, the Council of Europe takes no responsibility for factual errors or omissions. The views expressed in the study are those of the authors and do not commit the Council of Europe or any of its organs. Factual information correct at March 2003. © Council of Europe, 2003 Foreword Walter Schwimmer Secretary General of the Council of Europe Kaliningrad, the city and the Oblast, are these days receiving a lot of attention from international circles. The Russian Federation has been actively raising the awareness of European institutions about the peculiar situation of the region, separated by mainland Russia and surrounded by land by two countries, Lithuania and Poland, soon-to- become members of the European Union. The perspective of the enlargement of the European Union to the Russia‘s exclave immediate neighbours is raising fears that the isolation of the Oblast would deepen and its economic and social backwardness worsen. The Council of Europe has responded to these legitimate preoccupation by taking recently several initiatives. In 2002, the Parliamentary Assembly held a thorough debate which led to the adoption of Recommendation 1579 on the Enlargement of the European Union and the Kaliningrad Region. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities directed its attention to transfrontier co- operation between Kaliningrad and its neighbours, which was gist of its Recommendation 125 of 2003. And the Committee of advisers for the development of transfrontier co-operation in central and eastern Europe took last year the initiative of this study, which focus on selected issues and recommends specific action. Its objective was the identification of measures that could be adopted and implemented by the various stakeholders concerned (the Russian federal government, the Oblast authorities, municipalities, euroregions, the neighbouring countries, the Council of Europe and the European Union) without upsetting the existing framework of legal obligations by which the countries involved are bound. As the authors of the studies assembled in this book demonstrate, the situation in Kaliningrad shows both clouds of uncertainties and glimpses of hope. There is a huge potential for development, both in social and in economic terms, which needs to be tapped. The analyses and recommendations contained in this book, which reflect the variety of backgrounds and the complementarity of approaches of their 5 authors, constitute robust —food for thought“ for those with responsibilities for political and economic choices. The Council of Europe is committed to taking part in this endeavour, in the framework of a specific programme for Kaliningrad, jointly financed by the European Commission, covering the years 2004-2005. May other local, national and international actors find in this book the right mix of inspiration and motivation that would spark new initiatives for the benefit of Kaliningrad, its inhabitants and its neighbours. 9 Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................9 Judy Batt Federal Centre Policy on the Kaliningrad Oblast .................................15 Sergey Artobolevskii Perspectives for the Economic Development of the Kaliningrad Oblast: Domestic and Foreign Dimensions.......................................................29 Yurii Zverev and Leonid Vardomskii Transfrontier Co-operation Between the Border Areas of the Kaliningrad Oblast and its Neighbours .................................................49 Tadeusz Baryˇa The Russian Federation and the European Union: Kaliningrad and Beyond..................................................................................................71 Timofei Bordachev The Consequences of EU Enlargement for the Movement of People Across Kaliningrad‘s Borders ...............................................................87 Bartosz Cichocki The Transit of Russian Citizens to and from the Kaliningrad Oblast through Lithuania‘s Territory...............................................................105 Raimundas Lopata Measures to Address Some of the Issues Concerning the Kaliningrad Oblast and Its Inhabitants.................................................................1177 Paul D. Holtom Appendix.............................................................................................141 3 Introduction Judy Batt Centre for Russian and East European Studies, Birmingham, UK The collapse of communism and the transition to democratic politics in the states of central, eastern and south-eastern Europe brought radical and contradictory changes in the nature of borders throughout Europe. What was formerly the front line of East-West confrontation œ the border between West and East German states œ melted away with German unification, while what were formerly internal borders between the republics of the three communist federations œ the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia œ became international borders between new states aspiring to sovereign independence. In the tragic case of Yugoslavia, disintegration was accompanied by bitter wars aimed at redrawing territorial borders in the chimerical pursuit of ethnic homogeneity, at the expense of democracy and basic human rights. Even where the separation was peaceful, the new international borders inevitably symbolised the potency of national identities and highlighted the need for effort on both sides to redefine the bases of mutual trust and to minimise the damage to mutual interests. The disintegration of the former Soviet bloc in central and eastern Europe was, however, also accompanied by the opening of borders between the states of the region, making travel between the states of the former Soviet bloc much easier than it had been before. This rapidly acquired an immense practical and economic significance for ordinary people, as crossing borders became a vital means of cushioning the shocks of economic transition. Hundreds of thousands of people began commuting to work or trading across borders, not only between former communist countries and their more prosperous west European neighbours, but between the central and east European countries themselves. There have also been welcome local initiatives to develop more enduring institutional frameworks to maximise the benefits of the new situation. Borderland regions throughout central and eastern Europe have embraced the idea of Euroregions, modelled on west European practice and the Council of Europe‘s guidelines, as a vital means of developing cross-border economic, political and cultural co- operation. But these have faced the problems of lack of resources, inexperienced and inefficient regional administrations, inadequate transport infrastructure, and also increasingly divergent economic and legal systems across the borders over time as the respective states 4 implemented reforms in different ways and at a different pace. A major challenge for the Euroregions in central and eastern Europe that has come to the fore more recently has been the impact of EU enlargement, as some states will become full members in 2004, others are still on the ”waiting list‘ as candidates, and yet others are still uncertain as to their long-term relations with the EU. This matters, because the new member-states must implement the EU‘s acquis in justice and home affairs, which includes the so-called ”Schengen‘ system of tighter controls at the EU‘s external border, along with the EU‘s common visa regime. Crossing borders in central and eastern Europe is therefore likely to become more difficult. And yet, enhanced cross-border co-operation, especially in the form of fully-fledged Euroregions, could provide the framework for stability and prosperity, and avert the danger of economic impoverishment in the borderlands, with the associated implications of rising criminality, emigration pressures, etc. They could also support the achievements of the borderlands in promoting cultural rapprochement between nations and minorities too long kept apart in mutual ignorance or mistrust. Above all, they could act as ”gateways‘ between the enlarged EU and its eastern neighbours. To achieve these ends, the Council of Europe has called upon national governments in central and eastern Europe to implement the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier Co- operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities, offering its services and assistance in this regard. Since 1989, the EU has been defining itself anew as a political power with responsibilities for the stability and prosperity of the whole of Europe. Its capacity to realise this ambition depends not only on where its external borders lie, but on how they are managed. Enlargement to the countries of central and eastern Europe is one major prong of the EU‘s strategy, but not all countries of Europe will be ready to join at the same time, and some will remain outside for the medium to long term, or indefinitely. The implementation of the Schengen acquis (border

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