The Czech Republic, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union, faced strong resistance from some member states on Tuesday over measures to limit the movement of Russians following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Czechs want to suspend the 2007 agreement that made it easier for Russian tourists to apply for visas, while other members have called for an outright ban on visas. But other members, including Hungary, Luxembourg and Austria, protested against this measure.
“There is no place for tourism,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told reporters, adding that the move would “send a signal today to the elite in Moscow and St. Petersburg” now free to travel.
“We must not have a new iron curtain in Europe”
“I don’t think a visa ban is an appropriate decision in the current circumstances,” said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, whose country has maintained close ties with the Kremlin.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also protested against a measure that affects ordinary Russians. “We must not have a new iron curtain in Europe,” he stressed. “We all agreed from the beginning that this was (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war.”
His French counterpart proposed “to distinguish between warmongers, first of all the Russian president, his entourage and all those who support his war effort, and Russian citizens, artists, students, journalists, for example.”
“And those, we want and we must, continue to have ties with them,” added Catherine Colonna, recalling that the Russian oligarchs, under individual sanctions, will not come “to make their purchases either in France or in Europe.”
Russia’s neighbors Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have urged Brussels to ban the issuance of Schengen visas for Russian tourists. The German government proposed a compromise on Tuesday.
“It can be a very good way of making it clear that we are suspending visa facilitation agreements, that we are no longer issuing multiple visas or multi-year visas,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who wants to ” bringing together the different points of view” within the EU to find a common European solution.
Source: BFM TV
