Special visa- and passport-free travel proposed for residents of Kaliningrad

The European Commission yesterday proposed a special transit document for residents of Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad to ease their freedom of movement following European Union enlargement. The region, which has about one million inhabitants and is home to Russia's Baltic Fleet, will be surrounded by EU territory once its neighbors, Poland and Lithuania, join the bloc - probably in 2004. Under normal EU rules, Kaliningrad residents would then need a visa to cross EU territory to Russia proper, something which Moscow says would violate their human rights. "You could call it a Kaliningrad pass," European Commission President Romano Prodi told a news conference, adding that the "pass" would be fully compatible with the rules of the EU's "Schengen" zone, which has abolished all internal border controls. He also reassured Lithuania and Poland that the scheme would not slow down their own entry into the Schengen zone, expected several years after they join the EU. The Commission said it would open talks with Moscow on the possibility, first mentioned by President Vladimir Putin, of eventual visa-free travel between Russia and the EU, though diplomats say this prospect is very much for the long-term. (Reuters)