Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on the ways in which marine tourism can be
developed in the region.
Second, the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad
Oblast remains in the middle of the Baltic rim,
with its need to maintain access to Russia proper
and thus to sustain appropriate relations with its
Baltic neighbours and Poland. The Kaliningrad
question is a challenging test for the European
Union's Russian policy and especially its neigh-
bourhood policy for bordering countries, which
has implications for international tourism incen-
tives in the southern part of the Baltic Sea rim.
This situation is significant when considering
the plan to upgrade the road connection from
Finland to Berlin, the Via Baltica Nordica. This
route will be a part of a pan-European north-
south corridor development from Finland to the
Balkans and Greece.
Third, the effectiveness of international
mobility and tourism is dependent on border
formalities and border-crossing facilities. Ways
of crossing borders have also become easier
with accession. However, the three Baltic
States are not yet Schengen countries, so a
passport, but no visa, is needed for crossing
their borders from other EU states. Some
prejudices or exaggerated security measures
that may prevail in the borders hindering
flexible crossing date back to Soviet times, but
these are changing.
After the Soviet collapse, a passport
and visa barrier was formed. The citizens of the
Baltic Republics encountered similar formalities
for crossing the Russian border as all other
visitors from abroad. This led also to the fourth
implication, an aggravated situation for the
Russian-speaking minorities, especially in
Estonia (28% of the total population of 1.4m
inhabitants) and Latvia (30% Russian plus 10%
other minority groups out of 2.4m inhabitants).
In Lithuania (3.6m inhabitants), the minority
groups consist of 8.7% Russian and 7% Polish.
The unclear citizenship situation of minorities
still obstructs, for example, VFR mobility from
reaching the 'expected' level. The political strain
is also reflected in discussions about visa-free
access between the EU and Russia. Tension in
this matter is echoed in the media every now
and then, expressing the sentiment of reluc-
tance towards deepening cooperation on both
sides of the EU-Russian border, with conse-
quences for trans-national tourism.
Last, the deep gap in living standards and
income levels between the EU15 countries and
the Baltic accession countries and Russia is
narrowing only slowly. The salary and price
differences between Finland and Estonia were
enormous during the years of pre-accession and
were still so in the first year of the enlargement,
2004. GDP for Finland was US$23,000 and
$25,000 for Sweden in 2002; for Estonia $4200,
Latvia $3500, and Lithuania $3700. The differ-
ence for Finland was thus 5-6 times higher than
in the Baltic States. However, figures of GDP,
adjusted for purchasing power parity reveal
that the gap is not that impressive: Finland
and Sweden $25,000, Estonia $11,000, Latvia
$8940, and Lithuania $9900 (Statistics Finland
2004, p. 657).
The unadjusted GDP figures show us the
relative salary differences between Finland and
the Baltic States, but the adjusted figures reveal
that living costs and prices have been much lower
in the Baltic States. The higher salary level is lur-
ing Estonian experts to work in Finland (e.g. as
doctors), indicating a higher risk of brain drain
in Estonia. However, for more than a decade
the neo-liberal economic policy, well-educated
labour force and lower price levels in the years
of pre-accession, and especially after accession,
have created a very attractive environment for
Finnish direct investment in all the Baltic States.
Finnish companies are especially investing in
the Estonian retail trade and hotel business.
When, for example, Ireland, Portugal and Spain
entered the EU, the level of foreign direct invest-
ment increased exponentially (e.g. Karismo,
2002). In the Baltic countries this trajectory
occurred prior to accession.
Regionalization of the Baltic Sea
Rim Linked to the EU Eastern
Enlargement
OneofthemostimportanteffectsoftheEU
has been the multi-level regionalization of the
European economic space. The cohesion and
structural instruments of the EU have contri-
buted to a deepening cooperation between the
regions at the provincial level through the real-
ization of the multi-provincial projects. These
instruments have been of great importance espe-
cially in deepening cross-border cooperation,
