The two ministers have differences of opinion on the effectiveness of current Schengen checks, however.

Law enforcement from both countries are to carry out joint anti-drug trade operations and investigations at a time when Valga County, in Estonia, which borders with Latvia, ranks second in crime rates after another border county, Ida-Viru. Violent crimes in Valga County were also up around 50 percent last year, and is expected to grow further still, particularly in relation to the drug trade.

At the same time, many of the culprits are not local citizens. For instance quarter of those whom the police have named as suspects in Valga County were not citizens of Estonia.

The issues also run up against the free cross border movement supposed to be guaranteed by the fact that both countries are in the Schengen area.

Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) met with his Latvian counterpart Rihards Kozlovskis in the fitting location of Valga-Valka, which straddles the border.

"Movement across Schengen internal borders is supposed to be free. But we cannot allow a situation where a criminal moves freely across the border along with their activities, while a law enforcement officer somehow remains standing at the border," Taro said.

Another issue is that of third country nationals, given the changed security situation and the use of vulnerable migrants in hybrid warfare seen particularly on the Belarusian border with the EU in recent years.

Kozlovskis told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that his country has no problems with Estonians, though Europe more broadly could reach a similar position on the movement of third-country nationals, he said.

Latvia has since last September required all third country nationals to fill out an electronic form before entry. This would include Russian citizens resident in Estonia.

"At the European level, we should agree that, given the current geopolitical situation, visas are not issued for non-essential purposes, for example to tourists.

Then the number of entrants posing a security risk would decrease and electronic forms would not be necessary. At the moment, this system gives us 48 hours for prior checks, although it may not yet be fully operational. This allows us to better assess the security situation," Kozlovskis went on.

Estonia is not considering following the Latvian example right now, however.

"At present, we do not have a threat assessment showing that these forms are truly necessary or that they would help us resolve anything. In fact, the current Schengen checks are sufficient," Taro said.

Come what may, when a vehicle with Estonian plates crosses the border into Latvia, it is not uncommon for it to be stopped officers of the Latvian Border Guard's immigration service for document checks.

The Schengen Area in October last year implemented its Exit System (EES), an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals, replacing manual passport stamps. Travelers from outside the zone (including the U.K.) must submit biometric data (fingerprints and photos) at kiosks at external borders upon their first entry, to register for a 3-year period. This makes subsequent visits simpler.

More information on the requirement for filling out an entry form when traveling to Latvia as a third country national, including when traveling from Estonia, is here.

Valka (Latvia) and the larger Valga (Estonia) were once one town, and were separated when the border was drawn up in 1920, by British envoy Colonel S. G. Tallents.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!