[autom.vertaling] Commissaris Ferrero-Waldner om Kaliningrad achtentwintigste Februari 2006 te bezoeken (en)

Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner i, will visit Kaliningrad on 28th February 2006. Her visit to this region of the Russian Federation, which is physically separate from Russia and which borders Poland and Lithuania, demonstrates the European Commission's commitment to supporting Kaliningrad's development.

During the visit, the Commissioner will meet Presidential Aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky and Governor Georgy Boos to discuss Kaliningrad's prospects, transit between mainland Russia and Kaliningrad, and future EU support to the region. During the visit the Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner will also make a speech at the Kant Russian State University.

On the eve of her visit, Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said: "Kaliningrad is making good use of the economic opportunities created by the enlarged EU, and growth rates are impressive. It is important for the whole region that development should be sustainable and on a par with progress being made in the neighbouring EU states. Therefore we will continue to offer cooperation with Russia to promote progress and prosperity for Kaliningrad, which is in the interests of all sides".

She added: "I hope that the EU and Russia can embark together on a broader dialogue on Kaliningrad's development prospects."

Following Kaliningrad's steep economic decline in the early 1990s, the EU has undertaken a number of projects to support the development and stability of the Kaliningrad region in the last fifteen years. The EU committed over €50 million of technical assistance to the region up to 2003. A further €50 million has been earmarked for the period 2004-2006 under a special programme for the Kaliningrad Oblast, the Neighbourhood Programmes and programmes for improving the border crossings. Recent projects cover local economic development, administrative capacity building, environment, health, energy, tourism and education and vocational training. Examples include:

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  environmental assistance, with particular emphasis on waste water treatment, solid waste management and monitoring of oil spills in the Baltic Sea;
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  higher and adult education programmes, including encouragement of cooperation, exchange and networking between Kaliningrad and EU universities, through the TEMPUS programme;
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  programmes for developing the regional economy, focusing on attraction of investment, promotion of the Kaliningrad region and development of business tools for use by small and medium sized companies;
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  the building of infrastructure at the main crossing points on the borders with Poland and Lithuania;
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  programmes to combat drug addiction, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis;
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  the re-skilling of the labour force through vocational training.

Kaliningrad's transit arrangements for people and goods are working well. Some 1.5 million people use the transit regime every year, more than the population of the Kaliningrad region (close to 1 million). A significant increase in cargo transit since 2004 also demonstrates that current arrangements are working smoothly.

For additional information, see also:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/russia/intro/index.htm