The measure adopted by the foreign ministers of the Twenty-seven will mean that it will be “more difficult and will take more time” to obtain permits to visit Europe
The EU countries have agreed this Wednesday a restriction on the entry of Russian tourists by suspending the visa facilitation agreement with the Government of Vladimir Putin. The measure, agreed by the foreign ministers of the Twenty-seven at a meeting held in Prague, will mean a significant reduction in the number of travel permits and more obstacles to obtaining them.
“The Member States consider that they cannot carry on with business as usual. We have politically agreed that something has to be done”, announced the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, after the meeting. As he explained, with this step it will be “more difficult and will take longer” for Russian tourists to obtain authorizations to travel to the Schengen area and the number of permits issued will be reduced.
The suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia has been the meeting point between the Member States that called for a total ban on the entry of Russians to the EU, such as the Baltics, as well as the Czech Republic and Poland, and those that claimed to be selective, such as Germany, Spain, Italy and France.
Regarding the border controls already applied by some Member States, such as Estonia, to stop the arrival of Russian citizens on European soil, Borrell explained that the Twenty-seven can adopt a wide range of measures within the framework of the Schengen code. Thus, the head of European diplomacy confers wide sleeves on each country to take measures at the national level on visas and border controls, depending on the situation they face, to regulate the border.
The arrival of tourists from Russia has become “a security issue” for the neighboring countries of the EU, such as the Baltics and Finland, Borrell has admitted, who has assured that this summer Russian citizens have been seen traveling for leisure to Europe, “as if there were no war in the Ukraine”.
With regard to the permits already issued, the Member States have decided to commission the European Commission to study the situation and offer a series of guidelines for adopting possible restrictions. “There is a common understanding that they must also be addressed and this situation needs a common approach,” added the former Spanish minister.
Topics
Josep Borrell Fontelles, European Commission, European Union (EU), Germany, Spain, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, War in Ukraine
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