EU allowed Lithuania to transit coal to Kaliningrad with restrictions

Lithuania received permission for rail transit of coal and other solid fuels from the main part of Russia to Kaliningrad, despite the embargo on Russian coal that came into force under the fifth package of sanctions, about this informs BNS agency. It is specified that the volume of traffic will be significantly reduced.

The ban on the purchase of Russian coal and other solid fuels came into force today, however, restrictions were provided for Lithuania that allow it to send sanctioned products to Kaliningrad in transit by rail. At the same time, it is still prohibited to transport it by car.

In mid-June, due to EU sanctions, Lithuania suspended the transit of part of the cargo to the Kaliningrad region from other regions of Russia and stopped passing Russian trucks with goods. According to the authorities of Kaliningrad, about 50% of transit came under restrictions.

On July 8, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the European Commission and Lithuania are obliged to solve the problem with the blockade of Kaliningrad, otherwise tough measures will be taken against the republic. Transit between Russia and the Kaliningrad region was restored on July 22, but some restrictions remain. In particular, according to the clarifications of the European Commission, the volume of transit cargo is calculated based on the average number of goods transported by rail in the period from 2019 to 2021. According to the Governor of the Kaliningrad region Anton Alikhanov, the region has already exhausted the limits set by the EU for rail transit due to the fact that the European Commission did not take into account the volume of goods transported by road.

The fifth package of sanctions against Russia was agreed in mid-April. According to him, all current contracts for the import of Russian coal must be terminated in mid-August, and until then they continue to operate. According to the Lithuanian Railways, from January to May, more than 1 million tons of coal was transported to Kaliningrad from other regions of Russia through Lithuanian railways.

On August 10, the ban on the import of Russian coal will also come into force in the UK. In total, this country purchased coal and coal products from Russia in the amount of $267 million in 2021.

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