VILNIUS - On the eve of EU accession, the wire fence along the Lithuania-Polish frontier remaining from Soviet times is being torn down now that the border will become an internal EU one after May 1.
The Soviet wire fence was the last of its type and has separated Lithuania and Poland for 50 years. This was the only part of the Lithuanian border that has not yet been removed or adapted to EU border requirements.
The first fence-displacement proceedings began at the Lithuania-Polish posts in Kalvarija-Budziski and Lazdijai-Aradininki on April 26. The border with Poland is Lithuania's third longest state line and combines a 103-kilometer boundary. Only a few parts of the Soviet fence have yet been eliminated. The entire removal project will be finished within one year.
Some samples of Soviet logs and wire will be offered for museum exhibitions. Still, most of the historic wood is being burned and the wire recycled.
Customs service at Lithuanian border posts with Latvia and Poland will no longer remain after May 1. Nevertheless, passport control will be continued at least until 2008, when it is hoped that Lithuania will join the Schengen zone.
Preparation for EU membership includes adjusting border standards to EU requirements. The border with Latvia is already prepared to become an internal EU crossing, while the state lines with Kaliningrad and Belarus were strengthened and are being modernized to serve as external EU borders.
