It would be bad to completely stop issuing EU visas to Russian citizens.

In doing so, Europeans would stoop to the level of former American President Donald Trump, whose attempt to ban citizens of several Arab countries from entering the United States, and rightly so, outraged them.

The EU must not tear binational families apart.

It should also keep the doors open to Russian students who want to escape anti-Western indoctrination in Russian universities.

And it must ensure that persecuted Russian citizens have a legal way of entering the EU.

In a humanely meaningful way

But there are many Russians who benefit materially from the Putin regime but will never be on a sanctions list because they are nameless followers.

It is incomprehensible why they should continue to be able to vacation in the EU as if the Russian attack on Ukraine did not exist.

The solution that Finland has now found to this problem is good because it takes all its aspects into account in a humanly meaningful way.

It could become the basis for an EU-wide regulation.

So far, the federal government has refused to discuss restricting the issuing of visas.

She should give up this stance before the topic is discussed at the EU foreign ministers' meeting at the end of the month.