While the ministers of foreign affairs of the European Union agreed to suspend the visa facilitation agreement with the Russian Federation at a meeting held on August 31 in Prague, the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Poland said that such a measure is not enough, and therefore they plan to fight the Russian tourist flow in the form of introducing its own, stricter national restrictions.
It will be recalled that after a two-day informal meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu, stated that he supports the suspension of the visa agreement with Russia, but, according to him, this decision is not enough. He explained that Estonia, as well as several other countries that share a border with Russia, are considering introducing a visa ban at the national level to limit the entry of Russians with valid visas.
“Until we reach a consensus at the EU level on how to limit the entry of Russian citizens into the European Union, Estonia and other countries that share a common border with Russia and Belarus are considering the possibility of introducing a visa ban at the national level or limiting the crossing of the border by Russians citizens with EU visas,” his statement read. At the same time, Reinsalu emphasized that Estonia, as before, will allow the entry of Russians arriving for humanitarian reasons, as well as members of the opposition and protesters.
The opinion of the head of the Estonian department was supported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis, who was also present at the meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Prague. He also stated that his country wants to find a solution that would limit the flow of Russian tourists.
“During the discussions, we managed to convince all EU countries that millions of Russian citizens with Schengen visas pose a problem not only for the countries bordering Russia but also for the regional security of the EU. Together with Estonia, Latvia, and Poland, in the coming weeks, we will seek to find solutions that will significantly limit the flow of Russian tourists,” the official said.
Russian tourists are considered a threat to public safety
In addition to the above-mentioned statements, a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland was also published after the meeting, which stated that the large number of Russian tourists entering the EU could pose a serious threat to public security.
“The war in Ukraine affects the security of the whole of Europe. Since mid-July, we, as countries bordering Russia, have been facing growing concern about a significant increase in the number of Russian citizens entering the European Union and the Schengen Area through our borders. We believe that this can become a serious threat to public safety,” said the joint statement of the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
These countries are now expected to make an official decision on the matter. For Russian tourists, this is a complete ban on entry to the listed countries and cancellation of existing visas.