A possible European Union-wide ban on Schengen visa issuance for Russian citizens has been discussed at EU and governmental levels for a few weeks now, but the Member States seem to find it hard to come to a common decision.
“Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now,” Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, wrote on her official Twitter account days ago.
Shortly after, Estonia moved on to stop issuing visas to Russians and cancel the already issued ones.
Amongst those behind the idea of imposing a ban on Schengen visa issuance for Russians is also Finland, though the country has not taken such a step yet. The country’s Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavito, had told Euronews at the beginning of the month that the Finnish government would start limiting the number of visas issued to citizens of Russia, but so far, the government has not come forward with an official statement in this regard.
The same Ministry later accused Russian tourists of using Finland to transit to other EU countries, while the Director General of Consular Services at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jussi Tanner, insisted that the Ministry would have to take preventive measures if Russians continued to travel elsewhere on Finnish Schengen Visas.
The Czech Republic has also supported the idea of an EU-wide entry ban for Russian tourists, as well as the government of Latvia.
“We are trying to explain to our partners that the approach is justified and effective,” Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavský said regarding those who do not support such a move.
However, the number of those against such a measure is not small. The German Chancellor himself, Olaf Scholz, has refused to support move, claiming that banning the issuance of Schengen visas for Russians is a hard-to-imagine idea.
According to him, innocent Russian citizens should not suffer because of Putin’s actions.
“We have adopted far-reacting, concrete sanctions against many Russian officials, oligarchs, and powerful groups in Russia, and we’ll certainly continue to take further steps,” the Chancellor said, insisting that there are other ways to press Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.
Estonian EU Parliament Member Yana Toom also calls the idea “absurd”, saying that Tallin should not have suggested such a thing as it “cannot make decisions for the entire Schengen area.”
“I just can’t figure out in my small head how a ban on entry for Russians will restore peace in Ukraine. It just doesn’t fit in my head,” she said during an interview with Russian-language TV Channel ETV+.
The European Commission is expected to take a decision on the matter next week.
Article available on SchengenVisainfo.com
