The European Union Makes It More Difficult For Russians To Visit

EU foreign ministers decided on Wednesday to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia that gives Russians preferential treatment when applying for EU visas. The measure is part of the bloc’s wider package of sanctions that imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference after the ministerial meeting in Prague that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states” as the process will become more complicated and require further. The deal still needs to be approved by all member states at the European Council, the EU body made up of heads of state and government. Borel said the measure was necessary because there has been a “substantial increase in border crossings from Russia to neighboring states” since mid-July, which has become “a security risk for these states.” “We have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if there was no war raging in Ukraine,” Borel said. “It can’t be business as usual,” he added. Visas had already been restricted to certain categories of Russian nationals, and many Russian officials and prominent figures close to the Kremlin have been banned from entering the bloc. The agreement to suspend the visa facilitation program was a compromise after the 27-member bloc failed to introduce a full visa ban proposed by some Eastern European, Baltic and Scandinavian states. The Czech Republic, Latvia and Finland have already taken steps to restrict Russians from traveling to the EU, while Estonia even banned Russians who already had visas from entering the country. However, in a memo released ahead of the meeting, France and Germany urged against sweeping changes to EU visa policy, “to avoid feeding the Russian narrative and causing an unintended concentration around the flag’s implications and/or the alienation of future generations.” “While we understand the concerns of some member states in this context, we should not underestimate the transformative power of the experience of living in democratic systems,” the note said. Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday, Borrell said the visa ban issue was “the most important, concrete issue on the table”. “It was quietly discussed during this week,” he said, but added that there were different positions on the issue among member states. “We cannot afford to appear divided on such an important thing, which is people-to-people relations between Russian society and the European people,” Borrell said, adding that EU visa policies “should reflect that and continue to allow face-to-face contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not connected to the Russian government.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra in Prague and thanked him “for the principled stance on the need to limit Russian travel to the EU.” However, divisions remained over the issue after the meeting. Hungarian Foreign Minister Petar Szijjártó said on Wednesday that several member states, including his country, “have raised their voices” against the blanket visa ban. But Estonia said its neighbors would also consider moving forward with their own restrictions. In a statement, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said he supported ending the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia, but that “this alone would not be enough.” “Until we reach an agreement on how to restrict the entry of Russian nationals into the European Union, Estonia and other countries that share a border with Russia and Belarus will consider imposing a national visa ban or restricting the passage of borders for Russian citizens with EU visas,” Reinsalu said in the statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website. Moscow had already announced that it would react if the EU decided to ban visas for Russian citizens. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that such a move would be a “very serious decision that could be directed against our citizens.” “Such decisions cannot go unanswered,” he added. CNN’s James Frater and Alex Hardie contributed to this article.

title: “The European Union Makes It More Difficult For Russians To Visit Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-08” author: “Jose Mckee”

EU foreign ministers decided on Wednesday to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia that gives Russians preferential treatment when applying for EU visas. The measure is part of the bloc’s wider package of sanctions that imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference after the ministerial meeting in Prague that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states” as the process will become more complicated and require further. The deal still needs to be approved by all member states at the European Council, the EU body made up of heads of state and government. Borel said the measure was necessary because there has been a “substantial increase in border crossings from Russia to neighboring states” since mid-July, which has become “a security risk for these states.” “We have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if there was no war raging in Ukraine,” Borel said. “It can’t be business as usual,” he added. Visas had already been restricted to certain categories of Russian nationals, and many Russian officials and prominent figures close to the Kremlin have been banned from entering the bloc. The agreement to suspend the visa facilitation program was a compromise after the 27-member bloc failed to introduce a full visa ban proposed by some Eastern European, Baltic and Scandinavian states. The Czech Republic, Latvia and Finland have already taken steps to restrict Russians from traveling to the EU, while Estonia even banned Russians who already had visas from entering the country. However, in a memo released ahead of the meeting, France and Germany urged against sweeping changes to EU visa policy, “to avoid feeding the Russian narrative and causing an unintended concentration around the flag’s implications and/or the alienation of future generations.” “While we understand the concerns of some member states in this context, we should not underestimate the transformative power of the experience of living in democratic systems,” the note said. Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday, Borrell said the visa ban issue was “the most important, concrete issue on the table”. “It was quietly discussed during this week,” he said, but added that there were different positions on the issue among member states. “We cannot afford to appear divided on such an important thing, which is people-to-people relations between Russian society and the European people,” Borrell said, adding that EU visa policies “should reflect that and continue to allow face-to-face contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not connected to the Russian government.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra in Prague and thanked him “for the principled stance on the need to limit Russian travel to the EU.” However, divisions remained over the issue after the meeting. Hungarian Foreign Minister Petar Szijjártó said on Wednesday that several member states, including his country, “have raised their voices” against the blanket visa ban. But Estonia said its neighbors would also consider moving forward with their own restrictions. In a statement, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said he supported ending the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia, but that “this alone would not be enough.” “Until we reach an agreement on how to restrict the entry of Russian nationals into the European Union, Estonia and other countries that share a border with Russia and Belarus will consider imposing a national visa ban or restricting the passage of borders for Russian citizens with EU visas,” Reinsalu said in the statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website. Moscow had already announced that it would react if the EU decided to ban visas for Russian citizens. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that such a move would be a “very serious decision that could be directed against our citizens.” “Such decisions cannot go unanswered,” he added. CNN’s James Frater and Alex Hardie contributed to this article.

title: “The European Union Makes It More Difficult For Russians To Visit Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-21” author: “Heather Martinez”

EU foreign ministers decided on Wednesday to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia that gives Russians preferential treatment when applying for EU visas. The measure is part of the bloc’s wider package of sanctions that imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference after the ministerial meeting in Prague that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states” as the process will become more complicated and require further. The deal still needs to be approved by all member states at the European Council, the EU body made up of heads of state and government. Borel said the measure was necessary because there has been a “substantial increase in border crossings from Russia to neighboring states” since mid-July, which has become “a security risk for these states.” “We have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if there was no war raging in Ukraine,” Borel said. “It can’t be business as usual,” he added. Visas had already been restricted to certain categories of Russian nationals, and many Russian officials and prominent figures close to the Kremlin have been banned from entering the bloc. The agreement to suspend the visa facilitation program was a compromise after the 27-member bloc failed to introduce a full visa ban proposed by some Eastern European, Baltic and Scandinavian states. The Czech Republic, Latvia and Finland have already taken steps to restrict Russians from traveling to the EU, while Estonia even banned Russians who already had visas from entering the country. However, in a memo released ahead of the meeting, France and Germany urged against sweeping changes to EU visa policy, “to avoid feeding the Russian narrative and causing an unintended concentration around the flag’s implications and/or the alienation of future generations.” “While we understand the concerns of some member states in this context, we should not underestimate the transformative power of the experience of living in democratic systems,” the note said. Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday, Borrell said the visa ban issue was “the most important, concrete issue on the table”. “It was quietly discussed during this week,” he said, but added that there were different positions on the issue among member states. “We cannot afford to appear divided on such an important thing, which is people-to-people relations between Russian society and the European people,” Borrell said, adding that EU visa policies “should reflect that and continue to allow face-to-face contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not connected to the Russian government.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra in Prague and thanked him “for the principled stance on the need to limit Russian travel to the EU.” However, divisions remained over the issue after the meeting. Hungarian Foreign Minister Petar Szijjártó said on Wednesday that several member states, including his country, “have raised their voices” against the blanket visa ban. But Estonia said its neighbors would also consider moving forward with their own restrictions. In a statement, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said he supported ending the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia, but that “this alone would not be enough.” “Until we reach an agreement on how to restrict the entry of Russian nationals into the European Union, Estonia and other countries that share a border with Russia and Belarus will consider imposing a national visa ban or restricting the passage of borders for Russian citizens with EU visas,” Reinsalu said in the statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website. Moscow had already announced that it would react if the EU decided to ban visas for Russian citizens. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that such a move would be a “very serious decision that could be directed against our citizens.” “Such decisions cannot go unanswered,” he added. CNN’s James Frater and Alex Hardie contributed to this article.

title: “The European Union Makes It More Difficult For Russians To Visit Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Brenda Flynn”

EU foreign ministers decided on Wednesday to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia that gives Russians preferential treatment when applying for EU visas. The measure is part of the bloc’s wider package of sanctions that imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a press conference after the ministerial meeting in Prague that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states” as the process will become more complicated and require further. The deal still needs to be approved by all member states at the European Council, the EU body made up of heads of state and government. Borel said the measure was necessary because there has been a “substantial increase in border crossings from Russia to neighboring states” since mid-July, which has become “a security risk for these states.” “We have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if there was no war raging in Ukraine,” Borel said. “It can’t be business as usual,” he added. Visas had already been restricted to certain categories of Russian nationals, and many Russian officials and prominent figures close to the Kremlin have been banned from entering the bloc. The agreement to suspend the visa facilitation program was a compromise after the 27-member bloc failed to introduce a full visa ban proposed by some Eastern European, Baltic and Scandinavian states. The Czech Republic, Latvia and Finland have already taken steps to restrict Russians from traveling to the EU, while Estonia even banned Russians who already had visas from entering the country. However, in a memo released ahead of the meeting, France and Germany urged against sweeping changes to EU visa policy, “to avoid feeding the Russian narrative and causing an unintended concentration around the flag’s implications and/or the alienation of future generations.” “While we understand the concerns of some member states in this context, we should not underestimate the transformative power of the experience of living in democratic systems,” the note said. Speaking ahead of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday, Borrell said the visa ban issue was “the most important, concrete issue on the table”. “It was quietly discussed during this week,” he said, but added that there were different positions on the issue among member states. “We cannot afford to appear divided on such an important thing, which is people-to-people relations between Russian society and the European people,” Borrell said, adding that EU visa policies “should reflect that and continue to allow face-to-face contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not connected to the Russian government.” In a tweet on Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra in Prague and thanked him “for the principled stance on the need to limit Russian travel to the EU.” However, divisions remained over the issue after the meeting. Hungarian Foreign Minister Petar Szijjártó said on Wednesday that several member states, including his country, “have raised their voices” against the blanket visa ban. But Estonia said its neighbors would also consider moving forward with their own restrictions. In a statement, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said he supported ending the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia, but that “this alone would not be enough.” “Until we reach an agreement on how to restrict the entry of Russian nationals into the European Union, Estonia and other countries that share a border with Russia and Belarus will consider imposing a national visa ban or restricting the passage of borders for Russian citizens with EU visas,” Reinsalu said in the statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website. Moscow had already announced that it would react if the EU decided to ban visas for Russian citizens. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that such a move would be a “very serious decision that could be directed against our citizens.” “Such decisions cannot go unanswered,” he added. CNN’s James Frater and Alex Hardie contributed to this article.