The EU decides to suspend an agreement to facilitate visas for Russian citizens

First modification: 08/31/2022 – 16:36

Meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, the leaders of the Foreign Ministry of the governments of the European Union (EU) reached a consensus this Wednesday, August 21, to impose new diplomatic sanctions against Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine.

“We agreed to the total suspension of the visa facilitation treaty between Russia and the European Union,” said the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, at a press conference. This unilateral suspension implies a paradigm shift in European sanctions, since it concerns all Russian citizens.

Until now, the visa facilitation agreement that had been reached in 2007 for 90-day visits had only been suspended for some businessmen and military personnel.

“This will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states. It will be more difficult, it will take more time,” said Borrell, who also recalled that it is not a total ban on any type of permit and that they will be reviewed. individual and particular cases that require it.

In addition, the European diplomat assured that the Baltic countries, which had promoted this debate within the EU as they border Russia, will be able to impose more restrictive measures within the framework of the Schengen treaty.

Borrell explained that the community bloc made this decision as a result of a “substantial” increase in border crossings from Russia to EU border states, something that entails “a security risk” according to the senior official. “In addition, we have seen many Russians traveling for leisure, to go shopping, as if there was no war in Ukraine.”

Disagreements over diplomatic sanctions

Before reaching this consensus, discord reigned among the different governments of the European Union. Some member states called for a total ban on the entry of Russian citizens to the Schengen area, while others remained reluctant to such a restrictive measure.

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This new suspension of visa facilitation represents a midpoint, since it will make the procedures longer and more expensive but will continue to allow Russian citizens to enter the community bloc in some cases, which will be reviewed one by one.

When the suspension of the agreement had not yet been announced, Borrell had recognized that there were “different positions between different Member States.” “We cannot afford to appear disunited on such an important thing as people-to-people relations between Russian society and the European population,” he added.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock admitted that the other “Baltic countries” that have “a direct border with Russia, with large Russian minorities, obviously have other concerns that, for example, have no common border.”

Germany, France or Spain were among those who opposed a complete veto, while Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had already taken the step of prohibiting the entry of Russians who obtained a tourist visa.

Even with the agreement announced, these four countries and Finland, which had most urgently requested that entry be restricted to Russian citizens, issued a joint statement in which they branded the current suspension “a necessary first step” but recalled that need to go even further.

“Until these types of measures are implemented at the community level, we will consider advancing national visa ban measures, or restricting border crossings by Russian citizens with European visas, to deal with imminent security problems,” they concluded.

With Reuters and EFE