The idea of introducing a complete ban on the issuance of visas to Russian citizens will not receive unanimous support in the European Union, said Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy.
“I don’t think that breaking off relations with the Russian civilian population will be useful, and I don’t think that this idea will receive the necessary unanimous approval,” Borrell said on the air of the Austrian ORF TV.
At the same time, he called for a review of the approach to granting visas for Russians on a selective basis.
“I think we need to rethink how certain Russians get visas.
Of course, we don’t want to give it to the oligarchs (we give it. -
RT
).
We need a more selective approach.
But I am not in favor of stopping the issuance of visas to all Russians, ”he stressed.
The issue of visa restrictions for Russian citizens will be discussed as part of an informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU member states, which will be held in Prague on August 30-31.
Head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell
AP
© Virginia Mayo
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Chepa, in an interview with RT, expressed the opinion that the forces promoting the idea of a complete ban on visas for Russians in the EU would not be able to achieve its support from all members of the union.
“Particularly active countries are, as always, the most ardent Russophobic states of the Baltics, supported by the Poles.
But not many tourists go to these countries.
And those states where our tourists go are very interested in continuing their business ... Therefore, support for countries that oppose Russian citizens will be minimal, ”the politician believes.
Visa discrimination
Recall that in August a number of European countries announced a decrease in the number or termination of the issuance of tourist and other visas to Russians.
The countries announced these measures amid a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ban all Russian citizens from entering the EU.
So, for an indefinite period, the issuance of short-term Schengen visas for Russians has already been stopped by Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic.
The Finnish authorities have significantly reduced the acceptance of applications for tourist visas.
At the same time, the Estonian authorities decided not to let citizens of the Russian Federation into the country from August 18 and according to current documents.
The other day, Vice-Chancellor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Estonia Veiko Kommusaar said that due to visa restrictions and the inability to pay debts, about 4.5 thousand Russians may lose their property in the republic.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the country's authorities consider Russian tourists a threat to the country, and also expressed the opinion that the free issuance of Schengen visas allegedly undermines the regime of EU sanctions imposed against Russia.
In turn, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis noted that the Baltic countries, Finland and Poland could unite for a regional ban on issuing visas to Russians.
And Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Warsaw insists on stopping the provision of visas to Russian citizens, except for humanitarian ones.
At the same time, according to Bloomberg, such a ban is opposed in France and Germany.
They believe that it is necessary to continue issuing visas to citizens who are not associated with the authorities of the Russian Federation.
Despite this, according to the Financial Times, citing sources in the EU, the foreign ministers of the EU countries will suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia in the coming days.
“It is not right for Russian tourists to walk in our cities, on our marinas.
We need to send a signal to the Russian population that this conflict is not normal, unacceptable, ”the publication quoted a senior EU source involved in the negotiations as saying.
European Parliament
globallookpress.com
© FrankyDeMeyer
This position was supported by another high-ranking FT source, who said that more stringent restrictive measures regarding the visa regime for Russians could be adopted before the end of the year.
“The situation is exceptional and requires exceptional steps.
We need to go beyond the suspension of visa facilitation, ”the publication quotes him as saying.
The government of the Czech Republic is going to make a proposal to suspend the simplified visa regime between the EU countries and Russia with Belarus, Bloomberg reported.
According to the agency, this decision was put forward by Prague after the EU refused to completely restrict the issuance of visas to Russians.
If this measure is adopted, Russians and Belarusians will still be able to apply for visas, however, they will need more documents, the processing time will increase, and the visa fee will increase from €35 to €80.
Phased bans
According to Nikolai Mezhevich, President of the Baltic Studies Association, Borrell's statement states the lack of consensus on this issue within the EU, and not any change in position in favor of Russia.
“Borrel makes it clear to the main ideologues of this measure - Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles and Finns that they are trying to run ahead of Brussels, and this is not welcome.
Borrell is a man deeply anti-Russian, but disciplined.
He does what he is told,” the expert noted.
He stressed that politicians in Western Europe, unlike the most reactionary elements of the political elites of the Baltics, Finland and Poland, are not interested in such measures.
“By and large, apart from them, this does not bother anyone in the EU and no one needs it,” the RT interlocutor explained.
Schengen visa
Legion Media
© Olga Demina
Despite the fact that there is no single position in the EU on a complete ban on visas for Russians, according to Borrell, it is to be expected that the simplified regime for obtaining them will still be canceled, Mezhevich believes.
“We will return to the original version - with visas for € 80, a thick package of necessary documents, long terms for obtaining.
But so far without a complete ban, ”the expert believes.
In turn, political scientist Oleg Matveychev, in a conversation with RT, noted that the actual ban on the arrival of tourists from Russia would primarily damage the economy of Europe itself and would not affect the political situation in the Russian Federation.
“This is motivated by a mythical scenario in which the Russians will be afraid of the abolition of visas and, apparently, will immediately overthrow the government.
All this, of course, is complete nonsense.
The Russians took billions of euros to rest in European countries, thereby subsidizing the EU economy.
With our money, the tourism business, hotels, beaches, restaurants are being built and developed,” the political scientist noted.
In the event of a complete visa ban, this money will remain in Russia, Matveychev said.
“This will be a unique opportunity not to give this money to them, but to leave it in Russia so that we can have excellent hotels and services, beautiful parks and historical areas.
If we invest as much here for 30 years as we invested in other countries, everything will be even better for us than for them, ”the source of RT believes.
He added that the policy of imposing bans against Russians is being promoted through the Baltic countries by the US administration, which believes that it will be able to achieve a change of power in the Russian Federation by putting pressure on the population.
“The fact that Europe will suffer without our money does not bother Washington at all.
They believe that the percentage of Russian citizens who are accustomed to traveling to Europe as a given, in the event of a complete visa ban, will rebel against the government.
The West cannot openly defeat the Russian Federation, therefore it throws its forces into undermining the situation from within.
If now there is no consensus on a ban on visas for Russian citizens in the EU, it could potentially be formed before the end of this year, ”concluded the political scientist.