The European Commission will not allocate money to Lithuania to strengthen border control with Russia's Kaliningrad Region for the construction of the fence, reports DW. “The Commission indeed does not finance construction of fences or barriers at the external borders," told Tove Ernst APF, a spokeswoman for the European Commission.
The assistance to the EU member states on the borders is limited to payments for controlling borders, in particular for border surveillance and equipment. For example, thermal imaging and alarm systems equipped with sensors, that Brussels is ready to provide to Vilnius. Funding construction of fences or walls is impossible, she stressed.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry noted, that the fence along Kaliningrad will stretch 130 kilometers and will have a height of 2 meters. The construction will launch in spring and be completed by the end of the year, the total cost of the project amounts to around 30 million euros.
