Lithuania, Poland bordering on changes

While cargo carriers sit in seemingly endless queues at the Polish-Lithuanian border, stalling delivery of goods across Europe, officials of both countries have been focusing their attention on how to speed-up the process.

Two meetings held by the Lithuanian and Polish customs agencies earlier this month set in motion a progressive plan to resolve border issues. The first meeting took place in Warsaw Oct. 2, while a follow-up meeting was held Oct. 15 at the Kalvariya-Budzisko crossing.

The main task facing the sides was reducing the time necessary for cargo vehicles to cross the Kalvariya-Budzisko border, currently the only viable route for cargo vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tons. Behind its unique geographic position, this has been the only path west for cargo traffic from Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Belarus.

After the two meetings an initial plan was approved that should minimize bureaucracy and maximize improvements. This includes re-opening the Lazdijai-Ogrodniki border to cargo traffic as well as allocating more officers to the Polish side of the Kalvariya-Budzisko border.

In Lithuania, there are 104 officers while Poland has 88.

In accordance with the bilateral agreement, the Lazdijai-Ogrodniki crossing will service cargo that is "Euro 2/3" certified - cargo that is not harmful to the environment.

Vitas Volungevicius, head of the customs management division, said that environmental issues are an important part of the process and might delay the expediting of cargo rerouting.

"From the Lithuanian side, we are ready to open this border for cargo traffic today. The problem is on the Polish side," said Volungevicius.

"Their hesitation is due to environmental reasons. That border crossing point is in the area of a national park. They need to get special permissions from their Environment Ministry and other services before they can open the park to cargo traffic," he said.

He also explained that while Lithuania has just one individual, Algimantas Songaila, director of the State Border Guard, coordinating efforts of the four inspection agencies, the Polish agencies are acting independently which could lead to delays in reaching a final solution.

Still both countries are resolved to improvingthe situation at the border. Henrika Rukseniene, public relations director for the Lithuanian customs department, said the problem at the Kalvariya-Budzisko crossing was quickly pinpointed.

"One of the main indicators was traffic figures. Kalvariya was intended for 800 cargo vehicles per day. But we estimate that 1,800 to 2,000 pass through each day. And about 40 percent are empty," she said.

"So a new cargo friendly border crossing should significantly decrease the problem of queues at the border," she added.

The bottleneck problem had been identified in an independent study conducted by the Baltic Seas Customs Conference, or BSCC. The "Laufzettel project" commissioned an expert group to measure border-crossing times on seven borders. Headed by a Swedish contingent, eight countries - Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden - took part in the study.

The "Laufzettel project" monitored the Kalvariya - Budzisko border during the week of Nov. 12-19, 2001, and found that the volume of cargo traffic at this border was among the highest in the region.

The average wait for entry into Poland exceeded four hours, while entering Lithuania, on the average, took just over two hours.

A closer look at the study sheds some light on the situation. At an average two-and-a-half hours, customs procedures on the Kalvariya side took longer than the same procedures of any of the other borders studied. The average four-hour wait is on the higher end of those studied, though some borders averaged as long as eight hours.

All the same, the averages are far out of range with the expectations of the European Union and the two-hour goal set by the BSCC.

The study stated that in order to improve the situation, Lithuania and Poland must establish joint border control procedures, effectively creating a "one-stop shop" at the border.

The joint customs group will meet again on Dec. 2 to agree upon the timing of the proposed plans.