A visa ban would target civilians directly. This reinforced the Kremlin’s misrepresentation that the sanctions are not really about Ukraine, but a Western plot to bring Russia and its people to their knees.
Against this background, the fact that there are no entry restrictions for the citizens of the aggressor state, that they can continue to vacation with us, shop or circumvent sanctions, is morally unacceptable
Because of the Ukraine war, the EU is arguing about a possible entry ban for Russian vacationers. While Estonia and Finland have submitted, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Austrian government warn against holding Russians collectively liable. The EU foreign ministers will discuss the issue in Prague on Tuesday.
However, as the “Financial Times” reports, the foreign ministers have already agreed to suspend the agreement with Moscow on visa facilitation. The aim is therefore to issue fewer travel permits for Russian tourists overall.
“It is inappropriate for Russian tourists to walk around our cities and marinas,” a senior EU official involved in the talks told the newspaper. “We have to signal to the Russian people that this war is not okay, it is unacceptable.”
Parts of the 2007 agreement, which concern the free movement of government officials and business people, were already suspended when Russia invaded Ukraine. A complete halt would remove the facilitation for Russians to apply for all EU visas. As a result, several expensive documents would then be required. The waiting times would also be significantly longer.
The Estonian radio station ERR, citing the EU border protection agency Frontex, reports that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, almost a million Russian citizens have entered the EU legally. Around 60 percent of them were made via the neighboring EU countries Estonia and Finland. (TSP/dpa)
