Discussion about an EU ban on tourist visas for Russian citizens is gaining momentum. In the past week alone, the foreign ministers of Latvia and Lithuania called for tightening travel restrictions, Finland decided to limit the number of tourist visas for Russians tenfold, and Denmark joined a number of other countries in advocating for an EU-wide embargo, Medusa has reported.
Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine has already prompted Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, Belgium, Denmark, Malta, the Netherlands, and Finland to halt or restrict visa issuance for Russian nationals. Estonia went so far as to enforce an entry ban for Russian citizens holding Schengen tourist visas it had issued in the past.
The issue of a bloc-wide Russian tourist visa ban is set to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague on August 31st. Czechia, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, put the issue on the agenda.
Although the foreign ministers’ meeting is informal, it could lay the groundwork for decisions EU leaders will make at their next summit in October.
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