Swedish Migration Minister Andres Igeman said that the country’s government would prefer to impose restrictions on the issuance of entry documents for Russian citizens, while not completely stopping their issuance. The official spoke about his position to the Swedish Radio correspondent. “I think that a total stop would be difficult to implement, it would be wrong,” he said. It would be more realistic to introduce temporary personal limits.
The minister said that EU sanctions should primarily affect the leadership and economic elite of Russia, and not ordinary citizens of the country. “If we introduce a ban on issuing entry permits, it will be tantamount to dissidents or researchers not being able to come to Europe,” Igeman said. “And we need such an exchange with Russia.”
The official noted that Sweden, Estonia, and Finland are going to limit the receipt of documents for the entry of Russians, for example, canceling the simplified procedure for their registration.
The ban on the issuance of Schengen visas to citizens of the Russian Federation at the EU level is going to be considered by the heads of the Foreign Ministries of the EU member states at a meeting to be held on August 31 in Prague. The Czech Republic plans to apply with such a proposal. Support for the idea of limiting the issuance of tourist visas to Russians has so far been expressed by representatives of Finland, Estonia, and Denmark. The governments of Greece, Cyprus, and Portugal opposed the sanctions.