On Tuesday, the Finnish government decided to limit the processing times for Russian tourist visas to ten percent of the current amount. Estonia restricts the granting of visas to Russians even more strongly.
Estonian foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu has met the Finnish Foreign Minister today, Wednesday Pekka Haaviston (green). The topic of their discussions was, among other things, the limitation of visas granted to Russians.
Finland government decided on Tuesday to limit bringing processing times for Russian tourist visas down to ten percent of the current ones. Estonia restricts the issuance of visas to Russians even more strongly.
There has been a desire to limit the travel of Russians because Russia is waging a war of aggression in Ukraine.
Both Haavisto and the prime minister Sanna Marin (sd) have emphasized that an EU-level decision would be needed in the matter. The first opportunity to discuss the issue will be at the end of August at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting, where, according to Haavisto, Finland intends to, together with the Baltic countries for example, “keep the theme strongly on display”.
However, EU countries’ views on the need to limit the travel of ordinary Russians differ. For example, the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz has rejected the idea of a visa ban for Russians. According to Scholz, the war in Ukraine is “Putin’s war”, which is why all Russians should not be denied tourist visas.
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