During a two-day meeting in Prague, EU foreign ministers failed to agree on a total ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens. Instead, they decided to terminate the agreement on the simplified issuance of permits to enter the European Union. Obtaining a visa will become longer and more expensive, but Russians will be able to get into the Schengen zone.
The initiators of the ban on the issuance of tourist visas to Russians were the Baltic countries and Finland. Now, when direct air communication between the EU and Russia is impossible, it is through these states that Russians enter the EU, and then disperse to other countries. However, many people buy goods that are in short supply in Russia due to sanctions directly in these states. The fact that Russia has been waging an unjust bloody war in Ukraine for half a year now, and that Russians are freely resting in Europe, often defiantly supporting Putin, is extremely annoying for Europeans. The decision to ban the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens was supported by other EU countries, including the Netherlands.
However, there were also opponents of such a decision, the main of which were France and Germany. Formally, they explain their position by saying that the ban on issuing visas will complicate the exit of Putin's opponents from Russia. It was not possible to come to a unified decision. The compromise option was the abolition of the visa facilitation agreement. The EU countries bordering Russia can make their own decisions on restricting the entry of Russians into their territories.
More about the war in Ukraine and Dutch assistance to Ukrainians in a special section of our website.
Publication Date: 01.09.2022
