New Delhi: Russian nationals will be allowed to enter the European Union only because of the family situation and for humanitarian reasons. Apart from that, entry to the European Union will be possible for journalists, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Friday.
According to Johansson, restrictions will come into force from Monday.
It is not yet clear whether his words mean an agreed refusal of the simplified visa issuance procedures or any extra restrictions.
“There are no more grounds to trust Russia, so, there are no grounds for simplified entry to the European Union for Russians,” she told the Yle television company while visiting the Nuijamaa checkpoint at the Finnish-Russian border. She said that being a tourist in the European Union is not a fundamental right but a privilege, which the European Union no longer wants to provide.
The Polish and Baltic countries’ authorities agreed to restrictions on the entry to the European Union by Russians under Schengen visas. These restrictions will come into effect on September 19. Meanwhile, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that Helsinki will not ban entry to the country for Russians until explanations from the European Commission.
On September 6, the European Commission approved the proposal for the complete termination of the agreement on simplified visa issuance procedures with Russia. Brussels hopes this step will be approved by the European Council and will be enforced until September 12. It is supposed that the visa price and issuance terms will be considerably extended and they will hardly ever be issued for tourist purposes. The European Commission also calls on EU countries to check the “loyalty” of those applying for visas.
(Vinayak)