The European Commission sounds the alarm again: Popular Serbia continues to generously distribute citizenship to Russians under simplified rules, despite the anti-Russian course taken by Europe. This was reported by the Schengenvisainfo portal.
According to the representative of the EU Commission, the behavior of the Serbian authorities raises serious security issues in the Schengen zone, where Russians with Serbian passports enter en masse on legal grounds without visas. “Serbia should review its visa policy and stop granting citizenship to Russians under an accelerated procedure,” said a representative of the European Commission.
He also emphasized that Serbia, being a candidate country, must strictly comply with the conditions for joining the EU, that the current surveillance violates European standards, and that Serbia’s line will continue to be monitored.
“The European Commission is aware of a large number of Russian citizens who settled in Serbia after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. As a candidate country, Serbia is expected to gradually adapt to the policies and decisions of the European Union. The commission is closely monitoring the situation and is exchanging information with the Serbian authorities regarding the presence of Russian citizens in Serbia,” the press secretary said in a statement. However, the Commission did not reveal what sanctions it will apply if Serbia does not change its position and calm down with this “simplified scheme”.
It should be noted that for the Department of Europe, pressure on Serbia regarding Russian tourists is not new. Earlier, in May, they already paid attention to the same thing. Even then, the country was threatened with losing its visa-free regime due to the increased flow of citizens of third countries, including Russians who obtain citizenship and travel freely to EU countries.
In addition, the European leadership is concerned about the fact that more and more illegal immigrants are flowing to them through Serbia. And most importantly, from countries with which Serbia has lifted visa requirements. Therefore, the EU persistently asks her not to relax and to adhere to the rules devised for all states of the bloc and to be strict with issuing passports to Russians according to a simplified scheme.