KALININGRAD: The EU’s grand plan to unite Europe in peace and prosperity by welcoming up to ten more countries to its ranks is being threatened by the problem of Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave that was once part of German east Prussia.

At issue, says Russia, is the freedom of movement of a million people marooned hundreds of miles from “the motherland”, and the territorial integrity of Russia. Sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, Kalinin-grad will soon become a little piece of Russia trapped inside the EU’s external borders.

Keen to strengthen these borders, the EU insists that Kaliningraders must obtain a visa every time they cross Lithuania or Poland on their way to and from Russia.

But Moscow has accused the EU of erecting an unfriendly blue curtain (the colour of the EU flag) across the continent.

If a deal cannot be struck within two months, relations between Brussels and Moscow could return to cold war levels. Russia said this week that President Vladimir Putin may boycott a planned EU-Russia summit in November unless a satisfactory compromise can be found.

At the last such summit, in May, Mr Putin struck an uncompromising note. “It is no exaggeration to say that our overall relations with the EU depend on how this issue of vital importance to Russia is resolved,” he said.

Kaliningrad occupies a special place in the Russian consciousness. Its complex history and the fact that the Red Army carried out a bloody assault to steal it from the Nazis in 1945, means that Moscow is even more unwilling to relinquish its grip.

This week Russia proposed that sealed trains and buses should run between Kaliningrad and Russia. Their passengers, vetted for security purposes, would not need visas.

Dmitri Rogozin, the president’s special envoy to Kaliningrad, said this week: “Maybe I’m being naive, but what I can’t understand is that a transit agreement was struck for West Berlin in 1971 at a time when the cold war was raging.

“It was possible then so why not now for Kaliningrad now that the cold war is over?” The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Razov, said: “When Poland and Lithuania join the EU, Kaliningrad will be like an island surrounded by a raging sea.

“Isn’t the idea to establish a border-free Europe, not to make our citizens feel like they are caught in a trap?” But sources familiar with EU thinking say that Brussels is extremely reluctant to give Kaliningrad any special concessions. “They are not in the business of negotiating away the sovereignty of future member states. They don’t want to cede a right of way across the EU and they definitely don’t want any solution to hinder enlargement.”

One of Russia’s problems is that Kaliningrad’s connections with Russia are fading fast, as evidenced in the city centre.

Sipping beer in one of the city’s many German beer cafes, Irina and Maria, both 18 and studying tourism, say they are caught between Russia and Europe.

“We will feel more isolated than ever if they bring in these visas,” Maria said. “People are afraid that a new iron curtain is being put up.

“There are rumours that Kaliningrad will revert back to Konigsberg and be part of Germany again. But we just want our own government — not Russian or European.”—Dawn/The Guardian News Service