Meeting Place for Russia and the EU

Development of Baltijsk port infrastructure on the basis of the III and IV basins of the Russian Baltic Fleet naval base is important for establishing the socially-directed market economy. In the end of 2003 the car ferry terminal and the cargo and passenger ferry line Lübeck-Baltijsk-St.Petersburg were opened for the first time.

Today the passenger ships regularly call at Baltijsk port from Gdansk and testing of the river navigation in the Vistula Lagoon from the Polish towns has been started. The rail ferry terminal is also planned to be put into operation in 2005. This should allow for increasing rail freight flow. In addition to that wide opportunities shall open after establishing the direct ferry connection between Kaliningrad Region and Southern Sweden (Karlskrona) which is expected in the near future.

Stable functioning of the ferry complex in Baltijsk is considered as one of the key conditions for development of Kaliningrad region as the "meeting place" for Russia and EU. Realization of this strategic goal is possible only through integration of the transport infrastructure of Kaliningrad region into the European transport systems and, first of all, into the transport system of the South Baltic Sea area, on the basis of enhanced cross-border cooperation in the sphere of spatial planning and transport development.

The geopolitical position of Kaliningrad Region exposes the special role of the region in being a communication node for East and West. Creation of developed transportation network concentrating passenger and cargo flows by means of rail, road, sea and air transport and corresponding the prospectives of PETN development is one of the key elements of regional economic potential.

Baltijsk plays special role in the development of cross-border cooperation. The National Secretariat of Euroregion "Baltic" is located here. Activities of the Euroregion also focuses on transport communications. Baltijsk became an associated partner in SEBTrans-Link and Baltic Gateway projects aimed at transnational planning of transport infrastructure development in BSR.

Integration of Baltijsk into the international transport system is a necessary condition for provision of sustainable socio-economic development, which presumes attraction of cargo and passenger flows and investments, business enhancement, solving urgent social issues and prevention of environmental pollution. In the end this should contribute to the well-being of Kaliningrad Region in general, its convergence with neighbouring countries in terms of socio-economic development and improvement of living standards.