Finland plans to ban tourist travel and transit from Russia

Finland plans to ban tourist travel and transit from Russia



The Finnish government believes that tourism, as well as the transit of Russian citizens through Finland, should be stopped. This statement was made by Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

“Russian tourism and transit must stop. How to achieve this is a more difficult question, ”said Marin (quote by Yle).

She noted that the tightening of the rules for crossing the border is associated with the announcement of Russian President Vladimir Putin on partial mobilization the day before. According to the prime minister, the Finnish authorities need to assess possible threats to national security. Marin clarified that the government is already working on this.

European authorities have been talking about the need to restrict the entry of Russians into the EU since August. At the end of August, in Prague, the foreign ministers of the EU countries decided to abandon the simplified procedure for issuing visas. Now the process of obtaining a Schengen visa for Russians has become more expensive and longer. However, this decision did not suit the Baltic countries and Poland. They promised to take additional measures themselves. Since September 19, the countries have closed entry for Russian citizens with EU tourist visas.

Prior to this, the issuance of visas was also restricted by Finland. On August 16, the country's government announced a reduction in the number of applications for tourist visas in Russia to 500 per day. And since the beginning of September, the authorities planned to open an average of 100 applications per day - about 10 times less than before the restrictions.

In addition, on September 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland proposed include tourist visas in the scope of sanctions against Russia.

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