Move will curb number of Russian nationals entering the bloc but stops short of full tourist visa ban
\nFinland
\nThe EU has agreed to suspend a visa travel deal with Moscow to curb the number of Russian nationals entering the bloc for holidays and shopping, stopping short of a full tourist visa ban demanded by some central and eastern European countries.
\nMeeting in Prague, the EU\u2019s 27 foreign ministers promised to suspend the 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia that makes it relatively easy to obtain travel documents.
\nThe EU\u2019s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said there had been a \u201csubstantial increase of border crossings\u201d from Russia into the EU since mid-July, which he described as \u201ca security risk for these neighbouring states\u201d.
\nWhile the EU had already suspended the visa facilitation agreement for officials and entrepreneurs soon after the Russian attack on Ukraine in February, ordinary Russians could continue to come to the EU for holidays or other reasons.
\n\u201cWe have seen many Russians travelling for leisure and shopping as if no war was raging in Ukraine,\u201d Borrell said. \u201cMember states considered that we are not business as usual. It cannot be business as usual.\u201d
\nThe informal agreement struck on Wednesday still needs to be translated into EU law and it was not immediately clear when the suspension would come into force. Borrell said it would become more difficult and take longer for Russians to get a visa from an EU member state, and the number of new travel documents would be reduced \u201csubstantially\u201d.
\nThe European Commission has been tasked with coming up with guidance about the stock of 12m existing visas for Russians. The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavsk\u00fd, acknowledged there was no quick fix. \u201cThere are various ways forward and we can\u2019t answer this straight away,\u201d he said, without going into details.
\nThe common policy will mean EU member states can continue to issue visas to Russians, after France and Germany argued against a blanket ban.
\nTens of thousands of Russians left their home country after the invasion, although some returned when confronted with the reality of migration in a time of banking sanctions, as well as strained family ties.
\nSome eastern EU states had said they would look for a regional visa ban if there was no EU-wide agreement.
\nUkraine\u2019s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, had also pushed for a tough response, telling Reuters that a visa ban was \u201can appropriate response to Russia\u2019s genocidal war of aggression in the heart of Europe supported by an overwhelming majority of Russian citizens\u201d.
\nEU ministers agreed not to recognise passports issued by Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
\nSince the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nearly 1 million Russians have entered the EU at land border crossing points, according to the border agency Frontex. Most arrived from Finland and Estonia and had visas, residence permits or dual nationality. They are thought to have been using alternative travel routes after the closure of European skies to nearly all Russian planes as part of EU sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Move will curb number of Russian nationals entering the bloc but stops short of full tourist visa ban Finland The EU has agreed to suspend a visa travel deal with Moscow to curb the number of Russian nationals entering the bloc for holidays and shopping, stopping short of a full tourist visa ban demanded by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-280987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n