NARVA - The legal spat between Tallinn and Narva resurfaced last week when Legal Chancellor Allar Joks concluded that the Narva municipality is not authorized to regulate border-crossing procedures or impose driver-fees, currently obligatory for all drivers crossing the Estonian-Russian border through the Narva terminal.
Until 1999, prior to the terminal's opening, the downtown streets were overflowing with trucks and cars waiting to cross the border.
Still, national authorities have repeatedly spoken out against Narva's solution to the traffic jams.
Joks offered the Narva City Council to amend a number of the city's decrees dating back to 1999 and 2000 as they contradict the constitution and laws on local municipalities, the state border and traffic control. He stated that amending the legal acts released by the City Council would end the city's regulation of issues under the national government's jurisdiction.
In 2000 the Supreme Court found the acts of the Narva municipality, which consider the obligatory use of the truck terminal, as illegal. Yet despite whether there was a line at the border, drivers still have to pass through the terminal and pay a 1-euro fee, which many consider unfair.
"On the one hand, it is a fault of the Estonian government that during a reasonable period of time it failed to offer measures that would support the recommendations of the Legal Chancellor," said Joks. "On the other hand, an obvious neglect by the Narva city authorities was that they did not bring their legal acts into conformity with the general legal situation."
In a press conference on July 6, Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Meelis Atonen said that even though Narva was located on the Estonian-Russian border, it is not entitled to fulfill the duties of the state.
"I understand the city very well. It launched a commercial service without spending a cent from the taxpayers' money. Yet I also understand the legal chancellor, whose duty is to watch that laws are followed," said Atonen.
"Narva began to fulfill the functions of the state, and I hope the minister of interior and also the finance minister will look into this," he added.
Vladimir Mizhuy, head of Transservis-N, the company created by the Narva municipality to manage the terminal, claimed that transport management and traffic safety were the jurisdiction of the City Council.
"Our job is to make crossing the border more comfortable for drivers passing through Narva so they would not bother the city residents," said Mizhuy. "Many Narvans remember the times when trucks and cars were jamming central streets for hours."
According to Mizhuy, Narva cannot afford traffic regulation, leaving the toll taken from drivers as the only possible way to create a self-sustainable municipal company.
"If the state does nothing, then we have to handle it ourselves," Mizhuy said, adding that a possible solution would be the construction of a new bridge.
Terminal operation earns some 2 million kroons (128,000 euros) per year. During the five years of operation, the terminal dished out about 640,000 euros to the state budget in taxes.
Mizhuy emphasized that the terminal does not charge people for crossing the border but rather for services provided - i.e. secured, well-lit and clean parking, Internet connection, fax and copy machine and toilets.
"If somebody is not satisfied with our services, be my guest, use the Pskov route. Again, there is a road fee there," Mizhuy suggested. "We do not work for profit. All the money goes to taxes and covering the operation costs. We could drop the fees if we received state donations though."
Truck and car drivers spend an average of 20 hours waiting to cross the Estonian-Russian border in Narva. This is mostly due to the fact that since July 1, Russian authorities have been entering insurance paper information into their database.
Trucks that pass through the Estonia border in 10 minutes must stand on the bridge over the Narva River for hours, waiting for permission from the Russian side to enter its border control terminal.
Because of the jams at the major border crossing, Estonian authorities recommend all drivers to consider using border crossings on the southern border. Yet for a person going to St. Petersburg, taking the road through Pskov means a 400-kilometer detour.
Last week the Russian border control station gave passage to only 50 trucks, leaving 200 others standing at the truck terminal in Narva. The situation with cars is almost the same.
Aleksei, a resident of Estonia going to St. Petersburg by car, said that it was useless, if not dangerous, to argue with Russian border guards.
"Once I tried to criticize their work attitude, and revenge came immediately. According to their regulations one car can be inspected for 20 to 30 minutes, so they started to inspect every car in no hurry. And sometimes they just say they have a technical break," said Aleksei.
