Wednesday

6th Dec 2023

EU chief diplomat opposes visa ban for Russian tourists

  • European chief diplomat Josep Borrell has spoken out against a visa ban for all Russians travelling to Europe (Photo: consilium.eu)
Listen to article

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell has spoken out against a visa ban for all Russians travelling to Europe.

"To forbid entrance to all Russians is not a good idea," he said on Monday at a conference in Spain. "More than 300,000 Russians have [fled] their country. Are we going to close the door to these Russians?"

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

EU leaders are set to meet next week to discuss the subject after Finland, Estonia, and the Czech Republic called for an EU-wide visa ban for Russian tourists last week.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky also put his weight behind the ban. But the Biden administration cautioned against it, and in a statement, the state department noted it is "important to draw a line between the actions of the Russian government and its policies in Ukraine and the people of Russia".

The European Commission has so far not offered any official guidance on the issue, but some EU members, including the Czech Republic, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency and Latvia, have suspended visas for Russians.

"The Czech Republic will seek to suspend the EU's visa facilitation agreements with Russia and Belarus," Czech minister of foreign affairs Jan Lipavský tweeted on Monday.

While EU countries have banned direct air travel from Russia, limiting the number of tourists reaching EU capitals, St Petersburg is only 300km from the Finnish capital and Russians can still travel to Estonia and Finland and reach Europe from there.

Since Covid restrictions on travel were lifted, Russian border crossings to Finland have increased by between 10 and 30 percent compared to spring, Finnish government officials have said.

But last week, German chancellor Olaf Scholz came out against issuing blanket bans as the total exclusion of Russian tourists would backfire and harm president Vladimir Putin's opponents.

Scholz was later joined in opposition by his counterparts in Greece and Cyprus, both popular tourist destinations for Russians travelling abroad.

The visa ban is expected to be discussed at next week's meeting of ministers in Prague.

Finland restricts Russian tourist visas

Russian citizens were circumventing the European airspace ban by driving to Helsinki airport, which was being used as a hub to fly to other tourist destinations. Finland is now restricting those border crossings.

Germany rejects visa ban for Russian tourists

German chancellor Olaf Scholz said a total ban on tourist visas will not be supported by Berlin — adding that many refugees do not agree with the Russian regime.

Column

Give Russians more visas — not fewer

It would be unwise to stop letting Russians in. Europe's aim is to stop the war in Ukraine and for Russia to withdraw completely from Ukraine. And that can only happen if Russian citizens start resisting the war.

Opinion

Stop the visas — EU is not a Russia holiday destination

So-called Russian tourists should not be able to travel to the EU and Schengen countries. Tourist visas already issued should be suspended — and stop issuing new ones, says Urmas Paet, vice-chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Opinion

What's Slovakia's Fico up to over Ukraine?

It is high time for Slovak PM Robert Fico to realise that any display of compliance or even understanding towards Moscow constitutes a threat to what Fico calls the "national-state interest of Slovakia", writes the former prime minister of Slovakia.

Latest News

  1. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  2. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
  3. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  4. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  5. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  6. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  7. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  8. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us