§ Lord Joplingasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the negotiations being held with Russia over the future of the Kaliningrad region 242WA after the accession of Lithuania and Poland to the European Union, what estimate they have of the annual number of journeys made by Russian citizens travelling between Kaliningrad and the rest of the Russian Federation via Lithuania and Poland. [HL5630]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanBecause of the lack of clarity of the statistics on journeys (e.g. whether they are one way, whether they are transit etc), it is very difficult to give a precise figure for the total annual number of journeys between Kaliningrad and Russia. Our best estimate is 10,000 via Poland and 1,500,000 via Lithuania.
§ Lord Joplingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the level of financial contributor and other assistance made by the European Union to Lithuania to contribute to the resolution of problems arising from the anomalous status of the Kaliningrad region of the Russion Federation. [HL 5634]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe European Commission delegation spent some 3 million euro in Lithuania on funding cross-border projects in 1999–2001. Further Kaliningrad-related funding is likely to be available to assist in visa and passport issuing and in improving border controls. The EC has contributed some 40 million euro to Russia for Kaliningrad through the TACIS programme.