On November 28, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus called the European Commission (EC) President Jose Manuel Barroso by phone in order to discuss the situation on the Lithuanian-Latvian border, REGNUM was informed at the Lithuanian presidential press office on November 29. “Ungrounded restriction of free movement of people and goods is inadmissible,” Adamkus said during the talk. The Lithuanian president stressed that the situation on the Lithuanian-Latvian border does not correspond with principles of functioning of domestic market in the European Union. Valdas Adamkus informed Barroso on the complicated situation in Lithuanian and Latvian border areas where hundreds of European cargo trucks have to wait for a permission to cross the EU inner border, and where a state of emergency is proclaimed.
The Lithuanian state head addressed to the EC president requesting to assess abovementioned domestic problems of the EU and to help to settle them. According to the Lithuanian presidential press office, Jose Barrosso promised Valdas Adamkus to engage in the problems and to find a solution.
It is worth reminding, huge traffic jams appeared on November 22 at the Lithuanian-Latvian border caused, according to official version of Latvian authorities, by heavy showers in Latvia. According to Latvian Interior Minister Ivar Godmanis, analogous situation arose on the Russian-Latvian border where a jam of 3,000 cars appeared. However, carrying capacity decreased on the Latvian border because of the NATO summit that started in Riga. It is worth reminding, the emergency situation is announced in three Lithuanian border areas – Zarasai, Pavalys, and Rokiskio districts – because of the huge traffic jams. The Lithuanian defense ministry sent field-kitchens to provide drivers with porridge and hot tea. On November 27, Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications Algirdas Butkevicius sent a letter to headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels in which it is said that Latvia restricts entry of trucks from Latvia and other countries violating, in such way, one of the EU basic principles – free movement within the EU.