The EU may suspend the simplified visa agreement with Moscow
There is no consensus on this issue among the 27 EU members
European Union (EU) ministers this week, which envisages a preferential approach to the visa applications of Russians 20It is expected to support the suspension of the 2007 agreement. “The Financial Times” newspaper writes about this on August 28 with reference to unnamed officials who participated in the negotiations.
Eastern EU members have targeted Russian tourists by unilaterally closing their borders due to the Kremlin’s continued unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
According to the officials who spoke to the newspaper, the EU-Russia to the termination of the simplified visa agreement political support is expected.
“It is not right for Russian tourists to walk in our cities and on our shores. Russia we need to send a signal to the population that this war is not OK, this is unacceptable.” – said the leading EU official who participated in the negotiations.
Shortly after the invasion that started at the end of February 20Some parts of the 2007 agreement, clauses related to free movement of government and business officials, have been suspended.
The FT writes that a wider suspension of the agreement would remove preferential treatment for Russians applying for EU visas. Russians will have to submit additional documents, the price of the visa will be increased, and the application processing period will be extended.
“We are in an exceptional situation and exceptional steps must be taken. We need to take steps in addition to canceling the visa simplification,” – the EU official said that stricter requirements can be implemented by the end of the year.
Some EU members have called for steps to prevent ordinary Russians from visiting the EU to punish Moscow.
The Czech Republic and Poland stopped issuing visas to Russian tourists shortly after the invasion began on February 24.
They demanded that the EU impose a complete ban on Russians. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also made such an appeal.
Poland and the Baltic states have said they are ready to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Russia Finland, which has a 1335 km border with Russia, said that it will reduce the issuance of tourist visas to Russia by 90 percent from September 1.
However, there is no consensus on this issue among the 27 members of the EU. The bloc’s leading diplomat Joseph Borrel on the evening of August 28, he said that he does not believe that there will be unanimous support for a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians.
“We should consider denying visas to some Russians, especially oligarchs. We have to be more selective. However, I am not in favor of suspending the issuance of visas to all Russians. – Borrell told Austrian TV.
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholtz said that the President of Russia Vladimir PutinIt is important to impose sanctions on the closest people, but Europeans “must understand that many people who are dissatisfied with the Russian regime are fleeing from Russia.”