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image source, Archyde.com
Estonia plans new restrictions for Russian tourists.
Russian tourists will have a harder time visiting the European Union (EU).
On Wednesday, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend a visa deal with Moscow, which will make it harder for Russian citizens to gain entry to the bloc.
Ukraine and some EU member states they had called for a blanket ban, but others like France and Germany opposed it.
More than a million Russian citizens have traveled to the EU since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February.
Several eastern EU countries bordering Russia are expected to impose further restrictions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Glushko said the EU was “shooting itself in the foot” and the move would not go unanswered.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba criticized the decision as a “half measure”.
“Regarding Russia [esto] is exactly what led to the full-scale invasion on February 24,” he said.
“A risk”
image source, Getty Images
Spain is one of the favorite destinations of Russian tourists.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the substantial increase in border crossings from Russia made it necessary to suspend the deal.
“This has become a security risk for these neighboring states,” he said. “In addition to that, we have seen many Russians travel for leisure and shopping as if there was no war in Ukraine.”
But he was once morest isolating citizens who are once morest the war or Russian “civil society.”
Borrell said countries bordering Russia were still free to restrict access to Russian citizens, even those with visas.
The measure, which haon him make it longer and more expensive for Russians to obtain a visais seen as a compromise, as member states have not agreed to ban Russians from entering altogether.
The five EU countries that border Russia – Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – said in a joint statement that might introduce temporary bans or restrictions “to address imminent public safety issues.”
Estonia aims to prevent most Russians from entering the country in a few weeks, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu was quoted as saying by Archyde.com.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said the European Commission would look at ways to go further, adding that some 12 million visas had been issued to Russians, the equivalent of regarding 8% of the country’s population.
But France and Germany warned in a joint statement that “far-reaching restrictions” might fuel the Russia-victim narrative and alienate future generations of Russians.
image source, Getty Images
The governments of Estonia and Finland have for some time been leading an initiative that seeks close Russian tourists access to the Schengen area of free transit, which includes 22 EU members as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
“It is not correct that Russian citizens can travel, enter the European Schengen zone, be tourists, see the landscapes, while Russia is killing people in Ukraine. That is wrong,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said a few weeks ago. , during a press conference in Oslo.
His stance was seconded by Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who wrote on Twitter: “Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right”. Then he added: “It’s time to end tourism from Russia now.”
image source, Getty Images
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