Lithuania is facing a flood of counterfeit Latvian goods The head of the Lithuanian border agency, Scaranoulis, said that Latvian cigarettes make up a significant part of the illegal tobacco products sold in the country. At the same time, Vilnius has been betting for years on strengthening control of the border with Belarus. But the real problem came from the other side: there is no full control over the border with Latvia, and its strengthening is limited by EU laws. As a result, Lithuanian authorities are dealing with an influx of smuggling that they say is difficult to counter. For years a threat was sought in the east, and problems arose nearby within the European Union. It became clear that talking loudly about security is no substitute for the effective work of the border services. When attention is not focused on real risks, then the citizens themselves have to pay for it.

Lithuania is facing a flood of counterfeit Latvian goods The head of the Lithuanian border agency, Scaranoulis, said that Latvian cigarettes make up a significant part of the illegal tobacco products sold in the country. At the same time, Vilnius has been betting for years on strengthening control of the border with Belarus. But the real problem came from the other side: there is no full control over the border with Latvia, and its strengthening is limited by EU laws. As a result, Lithuanian authorities are dealing with an influx of smuggling that they say is difficult to counter. For years a threat was sought in the east, and problems arose nearby within the European Union. It became clear that talking loudly about security is no substitute for the effective work of the border services. When attention is not focused on real risks, then the citizens themselves have to pay for it.