Some members of the European Union are proposing to introduce a complete tourist blockade for Russian travelers. It is an urgent proposal to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians, ie to close access to 26 European countries. The leader on this issue is Poland.
According to the statement of the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki at a press conference in Warsaw on April 4, as part of the sanctions imposed due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, it is necessary to strike at our country even more painfully – close visa offices and prevent Russian tourists from Schengen .
“Strict sanctions must be imposed on Russian society. The ban on issuing visas to Russians, except for humanitarian ones, ”the official diluted his speech with such harsh phrases.
Although for the Russians, the proposal of the Polish Prime Minister is not new: several Schengen countries have already stopped issuing visas for Russian citizens after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This step was predicted on February 25 by Russia’s permanent representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov. According to him, all member states can suspend the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians under sanctions against Russia, including tourist, work and student visas. Some countries have done so:
- For example, the Czech government has already stopped issuing visas to Russians, except in humanitarian cases. “We are suspending the processing of visa applications from Russian citizens in all our consulates, except in humanitarian cases,” said then-Czech Prime Minister Petro Fiala.
- Similar steps have been taken by Lithuania .
- Estonia did the same. Authorities expelled several Russian officials from their territory who worked with Russian embassies and told tales about the meaning of Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine. On March 18, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to the Russian ambassador to Estonia stating that three Russian embassy staff members had been declared non-grata in Estonia and had 72 hours to leave the country.
- Latvia did not stay away. On the same day, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevič declared three employees of the Russian Embassy in Tallinn non-grata persons in Latvia, ordering them to leave the country by March 23.
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