After Estonia tightened its visa rules for Russians, other EU countries are following suit. These include Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic, Finland wants to follow from September. Other governments, such as Germany’s, had recently rejected proposals restricting such freedom of travel.
“Ukrainians are dying and Russians are enjoying life in Europe. There must be sanctions, entry bans, so that this is no longer possible,” said Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko. He joins the Estonian government, which, as reported, last Thursday introduced a visa freeze for people from Russia. Excluded These include those with residence, relatives or right of residence in Estonia.According to the authorities, about 2,500 Russians cross the border into the neighboring country every day, almost half of whom with a tourist visa.
No EU-wide solution yet
However, a challenge of this regulation in itself is that people with Russian citizenship can still enter with another country’s visa. Anyone who has a visa from a country in the Schengen area (22 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, please note) can enter any other country. Recently, Estonia issued about half of the tourist visas itself, the rest came from other Schengen countries. That is why the Estonian government is also pushing for a general ban on tourist visas for Russians in the EU.
Denmark wants to wait for an EU-wide solution, but is acting on its own. Poland is also considering limiting freedom of travel. Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic go a step further. You have already entered the visa freeze.
Critical voices from Germany and the US
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the other hand, recently rejected proposals for stricter visa rules. In Austria there is no major debate about it yet, negative statements have been heard so far. The US government also rejected Ukraine’s request. “The US would not want to block refuge and security routes for Russian dissidents or others at risk of human rights violations,” a State Department spokesman said.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
