News

On 17 November, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis visited Kybartai where he became acquainted with Russian cargo transit and inspection procedures. According to the Minister the situation at the Kybartai border control post compared with the first days of Lithuanian membership in the European Union had improved significantly and duration of veterinary inspection of trains has decreased. In Minister’s words, a set of measures will be proposed to Russia this week to accelerate the veterinary inspection of Russian cargo on the border. Russia will be suggested to containerise the cargo in order to decrease the inspections of veterinary correspondence. It will be sought to pay Russia’s attention to the poor condition of the railcars causing the increase of inspection time. Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos gelezinkeliai) company cooperates successfully with Russian partners dealing with railcars grouping issues thus accelerating the veterinary inspection. Customs, veterinary and phytosanitary services also cooperate effectively. During the visit, the possibilities of expanding infrastructure of the Kybartai railway station to optimise the inspection of cargo on this border control post were also discussed. Antanas Valionis heads a working group formed by the Prime minister for drafting and coordination of proposals on Kaliningrad transit via Lithuania. The working group includes officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, the State Border Guard Service, the State Security Department, the Customs Department, the Government office and other institutions, as well as representatives of Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai) company, the Klaipeda seaport and Association of Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies.