Part of the opposition in Germany advocates visa restrictions for Russians

Representatives of the CDU / CSU bloc, which is in opposition to the ruling coalition of Germany, are in favor of stopping the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. This is reported by the German edition of Bild. The degree of severity of the restrictions becomes a subject of discussion in the CDU/CSU. CSU deputy Andrea Lindholz said that the German government should not oppose countries that support a total ban on Russian tourism: the Baltic states and Poland. “The issuance of tourist visas for Russians should be stopped. It’s about sending clear signals to the Russian population,” Lindholz said.

CDU spokesman and European Parliament member Dennis Radtke also called it “unbearable” that Russians “go on vacation to the EU and spend their money as if nothing had happened.” CDU foreign policy spokesman Jurgen Hardt called for the entry of Russians “personally benefiting from the Putin regime” into the EU. According to him, there are “much more people serving in the Russian army, the National Guard, the FSB and the Wagner PMC than were previously on the EU sanctions lists” and they cannot spend holidays in the EU. But a general entry ban for Russians “cannot be justified” as the enemy of the EU is “Putin and his system, not the Russian population.” A similar point of view is shared by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. He said on August 22 that he did not support the idea of ​​a total ban on EU visas for Russians.