Poland and the Baltic States intend to ban the entry of Russians with EU visas
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Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia intend to temporarily ban the issuance of visas to Russian citizens, as well as their entry with visas from other EU countries, the foreign ministers of these countries said in a joint statement. transmits TASS.
Today in Prague, at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, the main issue for discussion was the issue of restrictions on the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens. Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia bordering on Russia demanded that the European Commission tighten its visa policy towards Russia. At the same time, a number of countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not support a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians. The EU foreign ministers were unable to agree on a ban on visas for Russian citizens, but by a majority vote was taken decision to cancel the simplified procedure for issuing visas.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia called the decision a “necessary first step”, but the flow of Russians to the EU must be curtailed. To do this, they demanded that the European Commission propose “appropriate visa measures” that could be implemented at the EU level.
“Until such measures are taken at the EU level, we, as countries bordering Russia and Belarus, will consider the possibility of introducing temporary measures at the national level to ban the issuance of visas or restrict border crossing for Russian citizens holding EU visas,” – the statement says.
Suspension of the simplified procedure for issuing visas to Russians, which has been in force since 2007, implies, in particular, an increase in the visa fee from 35 to 80 euros, as well as an increase in the processing time for documents and a reduction in the number of multiple entry visas. At the same time, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock suggested that in the future, Russians will have to wait for months to apply for a visa.
Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho noted that the countries bordering Russia will be able to obtain permission to independently regulate the entry of Russians into their territory.
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