Baltic Brawl a-Brewin? Latvia Wants Seaside Resort Area Back From Lithuania

Making the proposal on Manabalss.lv ('My Vote'.lv), social activist and former Jurmala, Latvia City Council Deputy Janis Kuzins called on the parliament to investigate the circumstances behind Latvia's ceding of Palanga to Lithuania in 1921. Kuzins argues that the area is "historically Latvian" and notes that the country had only "lent" the territory to Lithuania, which at the time lacked access to the Baltic Sea. Kuzins stated that a revision of the border would also "solve" the "decades-long disorder" in the maritime boundaries between the two countries.

Manabalss.lv allows local civil activists to collect signatures to propose legislation to the country's parliament. The proposals are considered by parliament if they receive over 10,000 signatures.

Kuzins's proposal notes that the return of the 21 km strip of coastline would place the Butinge oil terminal and Baltic Sea oil fields under Latvia's control, which would allow the country to gain "energy independence", presumably from Russian oil and gas imports. The country would also gain the resort and port town of Palanga and the town of Sventoji, which, according to Kuzins, would "create new jobs and a more favorable investment climate in the country."

The proposal notes that the 1921 international mediation which resulted in the border treaty between the two countries was conducted with a view to provide Lithuania with access to the Baltic Sea. Kuzins notes that after Lithuania conquered the coastal region of Klaipeda (formerly German Memel) in 1923, it ungraciously "did not return Palanga to Latvia."

First occupied by German forces in 1915 during the First World War, Palanga was incorporated into Latvia as it gained independence and de-facto recognition in 1918. However, it was soon embroiled in a dispute over the ownership of territories on the Baltic coast, including the towns of Palanga and Sventoji. An international arbitration commission ruling resulted in the signing of a border treaty between the Latvia and Lithuania in 1921, under which 21 km of coastline was transferred to Lithuania, with Latvia receiving about 120 square km of territories in the country's southeast in return.

During the Soviet period, Palanga experienced a boom in resort construction, and by the 1960s the region had become one of the largest resort areas in the Baltic republics, with authorities constructing an aerodrome there. As the area was formally controlled by one national government, Latvian and Lithuanian republican authorities did not bring up old territorial disputes at the time. Following independence, Palanga continued to function as a popular resort destination; the Butinge oil terminal has been in operation since July 1999.