Poland and Lithuania are both due to join the EU in 2004 - a move which will make Kaliningrad residents feel even more alone

A major item on the agenda is the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad itself. The territory is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania - and completely cut off from the rest of Russia.

Not only is it physically isolated from the Russian motherland - it is also economically isolated from the countries surrounding it, being a deprived area even by Russian standards.

Poland and Lithuania are both due to join the EU in 2004 - a move which will make the residents of Kaliningrad feel even more alone.

At the moment, neither country demands visas for Kaliningrad residents, but this will change from 1 July 2003, in preparation for EU accession.

Russia wants the people of Kaliningrad to be able to continue travelling through neighbouring countries without a visa, but Poland and Lithuania are unwilling to back down, worried that Kaliningrad will become a sticking point for their own economic reforms.

Unresolved issues

The Council of Baltic States, held in the Kaliningrad town of Svetlogorsk, will bring together representatives from Russia, Germany, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Mr Kasyanov is also due to meet his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts - and the European commissioner for external affairs, Chris Patten - in a separate meeting on Wednesday, to discuss the Kaliningrad situation further.

But EU officials say that so far, efforts to reach agreement have not gone well, and they are pessimistic that the issue can be resolved during the two-day conference.

Neither side has been quick to offer a compromise. Moscow is unwilling to give Kaliningrad a special status, afraid of creating a precedent for other Russian regions.

For their part, Poland and Lithuania are adamantly opposed to the Russian idea of a special transit corridor to Kaliningrad using non-stop sealed trains - an opinion shared by European enlargement commissioner Guenter Verheugen.

I prefer to see Kaliningrad not as a problem but as an opportunity for Russia to develop cooperation with the European Union

Guenter Verheugen, EU commissioner

"I think this is a very dangerous idea," he said. "We have experience with corridors in Europe and the technical possibilities in both countries. In my view we will not allow that."

Brussels remains determined that all new EU members adopt the so-called "Schengen criteria", under which the EU drops internal border controls but a strict visa regime for many countries outside the union - including Russia.

Environmental problems

The other major problem is the growing social and economic gap between Kaliningrad and its neighbours. When expansion takes place, the enclave will be completely surrounded by EU countries.

There are fears it could become a serious source of instability on the EU's borders, and 11 million euros are already being spent on upgrading some of the 23 border posts between Kaliningrad and its neighbours.

Kaliningrad was once a grand region, inhabited by Prussian kings

The EU is also subsidising environmental and nuclear safety projects.

Kaliningrad produces more than 400,000 tonnes of industrial and domestic waste annually, much of which ends up in landfills, producing chronic air, earth and water pollution.

Brussels insists that Russia will gain from a larger EU, through increased investment opportunities.

"I prefer to see Kaliningrad not as a problem but as an opportunity for Russia to develop co-operation with the European Union," said Guenter Verheugen.