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
EU countries agreed this Wednesday to restrict entry for Russian tourists by suspending the visa facilitation agreement with Vladimir Putin’s government. The measure, agreed by the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-seven at a meeting in Prague, means a significant reduction in the number of travel permits and more obstacles to obtaining them.
“Member States are of the opinion that they cannot continue with the normal course of business. We are politically in agreement that something needs to be done,” EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell announced after the meeting. As he explained, this move will make it “more difficult and longer” for Russian tourists to get permission to travel to the Schengen area and will reduce the number of permits issued.
The suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia was the meeting point between the Member States that called for a total ban on Russian entry to the EU, such as the Baltic States, as well as the Czech Republic and Poland, and the Member States 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 take a wide range of measures under the Schengen Code. For example, the head of European diplomacy rolls up his sleeves in each country to take measures at national level in the field of visas and border controls, depending on the situation they are confronted with, in order to regulate the border.
The arrival of tourists from Russia has become “a security problem” for the EU’s neighbors such as the Baltic States and Finland, admitted Borrell, who has assured that this summer Russian citizens have been seen traveling to Europe for pleasure, “as if there is no war in Ukraine”.
With regard to the permits already granted, Member States have decided to instruct the European Commission to study the situation and to propose a set of guidelines for the adoption of possible restrictions. “There is a common understanding that they also need to be addressed and this situation needs a common approach,” the former Spanish minister added.
Source: La Verdad
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