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Germany tries to exempt Kaliningrad from EU sanctions – Polish dep FM

"Today, Germany is calling on Europe to break the European law which is a result of a deal agreed upon by the EU 27 to impose sanctions on Russia," Marcin Przydacz told a Polish public radio station on Friday in his comments regarding attempts to exempt Kaliningrad from rail transport sanctions.
Rafał Guz/PAP

Germany wants to break EU laws while trying to lift sanctions imposed on rail transport to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, a Polish deputy foreign minister has said.

“Today, Germany is calling on Europe to break the European law which is a result of a deal agreed upon by the EU 27 to impose sanctions on Russia,” Marcin Przydacz told a Polish public radio station on Friday in his comments regarding attempts to exempt Kaliningrad from rail transport sanctions.

Reuters has recently reported, quoting an anonymous source, that European officials are in talks about exempting the territory from sanctions.

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels.

Vilnius introduced these restrictions as part of EU sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia accused Lithuania of having halted transit of goods and stated it would take retaliatory steps.

According to Przydacz, Russian attempts to ease sanctions always meet with a positive response “in the case of our partners westwards of the Odra River.”

Having asked what the rule of law and the European legislation meant when Germany was trying to break this law, Przydacz said that the EU should maintain its unity instead of allowing some countries “to do their small-scale businesses.”

“Pressure exerted on Lithuania to allow transit of Russian goods is an expectation to break the EU law,” Przydacz said, adding that Poland supported Lithuania.

“And being a sovereign state, Lithuania is to decide alone what shipment can cross its borders,” Przydacz concluded.

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