The prime ministers of Poland and the three Baltic states announced Thursday that they had agreed to temporarily restrict the entry of Russian citizens with European visas.
This measure is taken to respond to “threats to public order and security”, indicate the heads of government of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in a press release.
“We believe that this is becoming a serious threat to our public security and to the entire Schengen area,” they add.
Exceptions will be made, particularly for political dissidents.
The four countries indicate that they have agreed on “a common regional approach” aimed at “introducing temporary national measures for Russian citizens who have visas.” These measures “will restrict entry into the Schengen zone to Russian citizens traveling for tourist, cultural, sports or professional reasons.”
Exceptions will be made for different categories, including “dissidents”, “humanitarian cases”, family reasons and holders of residence permits in the European Union.
“We continue to affirm the need to support opponents of the Putin regime and offer them opportunities to leave Russia,” the statement said. But “it is unacceptable that citizens of an aggressor country can travel freely in the EU, while at the same time people are being tortured and killed in Ukraine.”
An issue that divides the European Union
The four heads of government assure that “they will continue to seek a common approach at the EU level” on this issue.
EU foreign ministers decided last week in Prague to suspend a visa facilitation agreement with Russia. However, they had not validated a broader visa ban, as requested by Poland and the Baltic states.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, had declared, however, that the countries bordering Russia “can take measures at the national level to restrict entry into the European Union.”
He specified that these measures must comply with the rules of the Schengen area and stressed the importance of members of Russian civil society being able to continue traveling to the European Union.
Poland and the three Baltic states said at the time that they were considering banning Russian travelers if the EU as a whole did not.
Source: BFM TV
