Lithuania’s National Security Commission has proposed closing down two more checkpoints on the Belarusian border and taking steps to reduce travel between the two neighbouring countries.
The proposal from the commission – a government body that includes the prime minister, several cabinet members, representatives from the president’s office and intelligence services – concerns the border checkpoints in Lavoriškės and Raigardas, two of the four that remain open after Lithuania closed two checkpoints last August.
Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė says this would allow Lithuanian institutions to focus more on effective enforcement of the international sanctions on Russia and Belarus, smuggling control and screening of incoming travellers.
“This means that by closing these border checkpoints, we will be able to redirect our focus and to ensure that the sanctions are implemented, that cargoes are thoroughly checked, incoming people undergo thorough checks, and that there are no cases of smuggling,” the minister told BNS on Tuesday.
The commission is also proposing to tighten passenger bus services between Lithuania and Belarus by gradually reducing the number of permits issued private carriers.
Another proposal is to restrict the pick-up and drop-off of passengers at the Kena railway border checkpoint, and to stop pedestrians and cyclists from crossing the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.
Bilotaitė confirmed that the commission is not proposing to suspend transit of passenger trains between Kaliningrad and mainland Russia, but is seeking to prevent transit passengers from disembarking in Kena.
“Around 8 percent of all transiting people get on or off. Around 13,000 [per year] get on and off,” the minister said. “They have documents, they can do it, but most of the time they get off here, it is more convenient for them to go somewhere afterwards.”
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), told a press conference at the government office that the checkpoints would be closed on March 1.
“The flow of Belarusian citizens has recently increased by around 50 percent via all road border checkpoints along the border with Belarus. The increase in the flow of transport, goods and people requires optimisation of the process of managing these flows and even more detailed screening of persons, vehicles and goods,” he said.
The government will make the final decision on closing down the checkpoints.
According to the statement, the proposed solutions would reduce the number of vehicles and passengers transiting through Lithuania and reduce the chances of Belarusian and Russian intelligence and security services acting against Lithuania.
The move is also aimed at more effectively blocking sanctioned goods from entering Belarus and Russia as well as preventing smuggling.
According to the NKVC, the proposed solutions would also improve traffic safety as currently the infrastructure of the road leading to the Lavoriškės checkpoint is not adapted and does not have a waiting area for vehicles.
Interior Minister Bilotaitė insists that cutting the flows of people will help to reduce the threats to Lithuania’s national security, allegedly posed by people travelling between Lithuania and Belarus. She estimates that the closure of the Lavoriskes checkpoint will reduce the number of travellers by 14 percent and cut it 18 percent at Raigardas.
The minister also says institutions are facing challenges related to smuggling via the Raigardas checkpoint.
“The equipment there is not always working, and we also see that the numbers of seized smuggled items are increasing because the value has increased. Let’s say we had around 6 million euros in 2022 and the value of seized contraband rose to 17 million euros last year,” Bilotaitė said.
According to the minister, 80 percent of Belarusian citizens crossing the Lavoriškės checkpoint are going to Poland for shopping, which creates a heavy administrative burden on the Lithuanian authorities.
Last year, people crossed the Lithuanian-Belarusian border through road checkpoints almost 3.9 million times, 25.5 percent more than in 2022. Two thirds were Belarusian citizens.
Lithuanian citizens crossed the border 684,000 times, 13.4 percent less than in 2022. In all, almost 62,000 people crossed the border at least once, a drop of 17.5 percent.
The largest number of Lithuanian citizens crossed the border via the Šalčininkai and Lavoriškės road border checkpoints.
Lithuania closed two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus – Šumskas and Tverečius – in August. Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said at the time the ministry would propose closing two more.
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