Minister Igor Levitin gave an assessment of the situation during his working trip to the Kaliningrad region. The problem of Kaliningrad should be given priority, he said.
The April 27 statement intends of conclusion of a separate Russia-EU or Russia-EU-Lithuania agreement on an a regime for customs transit between the Kaliningrad region and mainland Russia.
"The conveyance of cargoes inside Russia cannot and should not be regulated by the EU norms, in setting which Russia does not partake and which can be changed any time", Levitin stressed.
In keeping with the joint statement, the European Union has assumed the obligation under which, starting on May 1, 2004, as a result of simplifying the formalities the administrative expenses due to customs transit will be lower than before the EU expansion and will, in any way, correspond to the GATT principles as regards the proportionality to the actual expenses.
The ministry recalled that a compromise over the transit of Russian citizens between the two parts of the country has been found. The EU has agreed to change its in-house regulations and allow Russians to cross Lithuania to and fro Kaliningrad visa-free.
The cargo transit set-up is not as favorable. "Contrary to the many promises given in Brussels and assumed by the European Union in Luxembourg, after May 1 the conditions of Russian domestic cargoes transportation between the Kaliningrad region and mainland Russia have, far from improving, only worsened", the Transport Ministry noted.
Specifically, the railage and trucking procedure has become more complicated and costly; services by Lithuanian customs brokers in customs clearing have become 50 percent costlier. Insurance premiums in obligatory motorist insurance are now 30 to 60 percent costlier than before May 1, 2004.
In addition, railage cargo checks by the Lithuanian services have become much more complicated. "This leads to demurrage of the rolling stock, disruption of the railage schedule and the delivery timeframes", the ministerial communique reads.
