The fate of Limitrof

... In fact, of course, Lithuania lost to Gazprom not now.

And not even in July last year, when the Swedish appellate court of Svea County (the same, by the way, which Gazprom itself had already broken so, in its appeal against the Ukrainian Naftogaz), finally rejected the Lithuanian motion. Which had been suing for eight long years before, and then sought to reverse the decision of the Stockholm arbitration of June 22, 2016 on a dispute with Gazprom.

And not even when Lithuania filed a lawsuit against the Russian company that was absolutely absurd in terms of legal content eight years ago: the Balts, who were not very quick in decision-making, then decided to dispute how “unfair” the prices were at which they bought Russian gas for many years. That is not the point: well, yes, the legal content is void here. But after all, did the Ukrainians somehow manage to win the process very similar in “political trends” in the same Stockholm?

Everything is simple here. Lithuania lost its historical debate exactly when it was no longer needed. And above all, as in an instrument of European geopolitics and / or transport logistics.

No, they didn’t turn away from her. She was not even “betrayed” (which, you must agree, is a rarity in the current world, which is quite nervous in this sense), Western, primarily “Atlanticist” patrons.

It was simply, purely unnecessary, transferred to the category of "on a common basis." But “on a general basis” such claims, like the one that Vilnius filed eight years ago with the Stockholm Arbitration Court, are not won. And I must admit that somehow it’s rather naive not to understand.

However, let's take it in order.

According to the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, on Monday, Vilnius, now in the final instance, in the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Sweden, lost a case of financial claims against the Russian company Gazprom in the amount of € 1.4 billion. As the Lithuanian energy department sadly stated, “The Supreme Court of Sweden rejected the request of Lithuania to review the decision of the appellate court of this country, which was unfavorable for us, which upheld the 2016 Stockholm arbitration order” (c).

Well, in general, as they say in the famous Scandinavian fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood: "Once upon a time there was a girl - herself, a fool, and to blame." After all, it’s like in a court: if you are obviously wrong or obviously right only for yourself, and even without a very good lawyer, then filing a lawsuit will only increase legal costs.

But after all, in Vilnius they nevertheless relied on: after all, everything that happens is reduced only to provincial stupidity of performers.

And it is unlikely that they initially relied on this kind of - without any chance - defeat. Moreover, at all stages of a long judicial path to all possible appeals instances.

But something went wrong.

What exactly?

But time itself has changed.

For some reason, Lithuania did not understand this. But in vain.

Everything, in general, is simple: after Lithuania itself, with its own hands and “geopolitical preferences,” destroyed its transit significance in the Russia-EU logistics corridors and, as a result, rapidly provincialized, it would be extremely foolish to expect the old love for and from Europe itself: a province is a province, preferences to it in the most perfect way to anything.

And although the Lithuanians from all the limitrophic Baltic states have built, perhaps, the most decent, the fate of the Limitroph from this “decency” does not change. This is not a subject or even an object, but only a tool. Which after use is peacefully put in the barn.

The funniest thing, by the way, happens when the “tool” is subjected to another inspection: then, for example, US President Donald Trump meets with all the leaders of the free and (truly) independent Baltic countries.

And do you seriously believe that for the sake of this deaf and useless province, someone will seriously strain? Trying to do what is delicately called “exerting pressure on purely political methods”, even on the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute, purged by all Atlantic winds, is it the Stockholm Arbitration Court once so popular among domestic entrepreneurs? Yah.

By the way. Perhaps we can even roughly name the time when the Baltic states began to cease to be of any particular interest to the European subcontinent. And from what moment it began to finally turn into a deaf European province, which from now on will be judged “honestly” even with politically opposed parties. For stupidly the game is not worth the candle.

This happened when the Russians not only made the final decision to curtail the topic of “Baltic transit”, but also began to take practical steps to build port infrastructure in the Baltic. And all at once understood everything.

How, relatively speaking, having Ust-Luga, to make sure that even transcontinental (the same Chinese, for example) transit bends around a wide arc of Klaipeda, this is a task for a fifth grader. And if they could, although they dragged on for a long time, decide in Moscow and St. Petersburg, then one must be a completely virgin person to think that they could not resolve her in Berlin, Brussels or the same Stockholm.

And what have you got there, in the Baltic states (oh, sorry, in the Baltic countries), besides the transit opportunities, was there something interesting for the old woman of Europe?

Agriculture? Self-destroyed Ignalina nuclear power plant?

... What did you guys like?

It was during the Soviet times that the Baltic republics were the “northwestern showcase of the USSR”, but today it is impossible to be a showcase of space fenced off by a blank wall. Built, by the way, in the literal sense of the word according to your lengthy requests at the same time from both sides. And in this case, for old Europe you are nothing more than a dull and marshy, overgrown with wild forests and inhabited by wild people "northeastern province".

Such, excuse me, things.

Again, this is the standard scenario for any limited education: after it becomes unnecessary and / or not so profitable for any reason to use, they forget about it. And in the best case, as happened with the proud “Baltic tigers”, they clean up a dusty barn. The result is clear. And where you count on “political support”, instead of you they have been ineffectively bored for eight years, and then they also offer to pay legal costs.

What do you want? Someone has to pay.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.