Finland and the Baltic States will argue at the end of August at the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers in Prague for the termination of the EU visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Helsinki has already announced on 16 August that the number of tourist visas issued to Russian citizens will be reduced to 10% of the current volume as of 1 September, AFP reported.
Both Finland and the Baltic States have received many more Russian tourists since the end of the Covid-19 restrictions. Helsinki currently processes about 1,000 visa applications per day from Russia.
If visas are issued on the basis of individual examination and not on the basis of nationality, “the hours of operation allocated to applications for tourist visas will be reduced, which will result in fewer applications”, the Finnish government explained.
The visa facilitation agreement for Russian citizens, which has been in force since 2007 and offers reduced processing times and visa fees, was already partially suspended in February for citizens close to Vladimir Putin’s regime. In May, in a Communication, the Commission also recommended that Member States strengthen security checks on Russian citizens receiving short-stay Schengen visas, but did not advocate a ban on ordinary citizens (see EUROPE 12946/3).
Contacted on 22 August, the Czech Presidency of the EU Council did not wish to comment on the nature of the discussion planned at the ‘Gymnich’. The Presidency is currently consulting member countries on this issue, a spokesperson said, and it is only expected at this stage that the countries concerned will raise the issue themselves. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)