Natalia Antipova
Russia's numerous customs checkpoints are having trouble inspecting and handling all consignments. Separate measures have been unable to rectify the situation. We must introduce new technologies, create a reliable infrastructure, and make security a priority.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made these statements at a meeting of the State Border Commission at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg.
Before issuing orders to officials, Vladimir Putin visited the Torfyanovka customs checkpoint on the Russian-Finnish border as he had promised to his Finnish counterpart Matti Vanhanen. It was snowing lightly when the checkpoint's head, Pyotr Ivanov, welcomed Mr Putin.
Mr Ivanov said this was the largest checkpoint, covering a territory of 30 hectares and employing 260 people. "In October, we cleared 23,824 vehicles, an all-time high for this and all other Russian checkpoints," Mr Ivanov told Mr Putin.
Mr Ivanov said that customs-clearance proceedings required between thirty minutes and two hours per vehicle, and that a thousand vehicles were cleared every day.
Starting in January of 2009, this number will be reduced considerably, after all checkpoints receive a preliminary import-notification network linking them with official EU agencies.
"Do you have any corruption?" journalists asked.
"No! No! This is out of the question!" Mr Ivanov shouted and led them inside the customs-clearance building.
Mr Ivanov said proudly that the checkpoint operated in line with the single-building, rather than single-window, principle.
He did not know that Mr Putin would draw attention to the single-window principle at the above-mentioned meeting several hours later.
Mr Ivanov showed the inspection-and-clearance facility to Mr Putin, explaining that its personnel had located contraband furs, computer hard drives, and even machine-gun disks.
Since March 3, 2008, only two criminal cases have been opened using the Torfyanovka checkpoint's inspection-and-clearance facility data.
"How many similar facilities do you have?" Mr Putin asked Federal Customs Service Head Andrei Belyaninov.
"We have 40 facilities nationwide, but we need 80," Mr Belyaninov replied.
"Do you like it here?" Mr Putin asked a long distance truck driver.
"They should install another truck scale here," the driver replied.
But the Prime Minister promised him nothing.
"Although queues are commonplace, there were none yesterday or today," Mr Putin announced at the meeting, making it clear that the checkpoint was not empty by sheer coincidence.
Mr Putin said that the commission's previous meeting had aimed to "reduce excessive control procedures at checkpoints," and that national legislation should be modified more quickly.
"I am convinced that there will be no drastic improvements unless we create a modern and reliable border infrastructure," the Prime Minister stressed.
Mr Putin said that the federal target programme "State Border of the Russian Federation" aimed to build checkpoints for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi.
"Additional budgetary funding will be allocated for this purpose," Mr Putin said, but did not specify a sum.
