In August, a discussion began with the EU about limiting the issuance of tourist visas to Russians who may use them to evade sanctions.
Swedish Immigration Minister Anders Igman believes that the European Union can only introduce some restrictions on the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens, and not a complete ban.
“I think it would be difficult and wrong to implement a complete stop (of visa issuance). On the other hand, a strict restriction through, for example, the elimination of the simplified visa procedure is what is sought. us, Estonia, Finland and others. in the EU,” said the minister. in an interview with P4 Extra on Swedish Radio.
He added that the complete cessation of issuing visas to Russians could lead to mistakes.
“We want the sanctions to mainly hit the political and economic elite of Russia. If a complete visa ban is introduced, it means that neither dissidents nor researchers can go to the EU. We still want carry out such an exchange with Russia” , said Igman.
As you know, in August, a discussion began in the EU on limiting the issuance of tourist visas to Russians who may use them to avoid sanctions. The Czech Republic and Estonia have already introduced such a restriction, while the Baltic countries, Denmark and Poland have supported the decision at the EU level.
Germany, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus have already opposed the ban on issuing tourist visas to all Russians. They explained this by saying that they did not want to punish ordinary citizens of the Russian Federation, who, in their opinion, were not involved in the Russian aggression.
EU foreign ministers will meet on August 31 to discuss visa restrictions for Russians amid the war in Ukraine.
Source: korrespondent
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