The EU and Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad and the impact of EU enlargement

Book abstract:

Kaliningrad is an anomaly left by the collapse of the Soviet Union, an exclave with one million inhabitants ruled from Moscow but cut off from Russia proper and bordered by Poland and Lithuania. The region is threatened by economic isolation, pollution, organised crime, drug-trafficking and one of the highest concentrations of HIV in Europe. It is also the home of the Russian Baltic Fleet.

The next stage of European Union enlargement will turn Kaliningrad into a Russian enclave or 'island' within the Union, thereby turning these problems into EU issues as well.

This book is the result of a round table seminar jointly organised by the Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) and the British Embassy, Brussels on 'The Consequences of EU Enlargement for Kaliningrad', held in Brussels on 29 March 2000. The papers present a wide range of views from participants at the conference. The aim of the book is to focus attention on the possible problems that enlargement looks set to present. This lively collection of papers, introduced by Chris Patten, asks how Russia and the European Union should handle this challenge. Does Kaliningrad pose intractable problems for an enlarged EU, or can it become a 'pilot region' for co-operation?

The chapters in the book are grouped under five broad headings: Setting the scene: EU/Russia relations; Kaliningrad Oblast; The Neighbours; Problems and threats: real or imaginery?; and The way forward.

The views expressed at the conference make a valuable contribution to future EU-Russia discussions on Kaliningrad.