The long journey of Ukrainian and Russian refugees to the
Indice
Russian passport.NurPhoto via NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe Finnish government agreed Tuesday to reduce by 90 percent the issuance of visas to Russian citizens from current levels starting in September, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is the opposite position to that of the US, which announced last Friday that it would not restrict the issuance of these documents to Russian citizens.Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a press conference that once this measure comes into force Finland’s consular services in Russia will only accept a tenth of the nearly 1,000 visa applications per day they receive. Advertisement
Finland rejects “Finlandization” of Ukraine
Not everyone agrees. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that while it is important to sanction members of President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, Europeans must “also understand that there are many people fleeing Russia because they do not agree with the Russian regime.”
European leaders are unlikely to reach full agreement on this issue. Although the EU has largely held together since the start of the war and has united to impose serious economic sanctions on Russia, there is a geographic reality that complicates any consensus among 27 countries with very different economic and political priorities.
The western and southern EU countries, which are somewhat shielded from Kremlin aggression because of the great distance, are quick to remind the hawks that Russia is a very large part of the wider region of Europe.
Therefore, it is not only extremely difficult, but probably not particularly productive, to simply ignore Russia. Once the war is over, European economies will want to re-establish ties with Russia. This is not only beneficial to those countries, but could also prove valuable in a post-conflict propaganda war to convince average Russians of the benefits of European values.
Russians will find it more difficult to enter the EU
Helsinki, Aug 16 (EFE) – The Finnish government agreed Tuesday to reduce by 90% the issuance of visas to Russian citizens compared to current levels from September, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told the press that once this measure comes into force, Finnish consular services in Russia will only accept a tenth of the approximately 1,000 visa applications they receive daily.
At the same time, they will review current consular practices to facilitate the granting of humanitarian visas to Russian citizens critical of the war in Ukraine who want to leave Russia, such as human rights activists or journalists.
The EU completely suspends the agreement on the facilitation of the
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The measure in Finland was implemented after receiving criticism that thousands of people from Russia were still entering the European Union after crossing the country’s border by vehicle, despite the fact that traveling by plane or train to the European Union is prohibited.
The European Commission earlier this month avoided commenting on a possible ban on tourist visas for Russian citizens, leaving it up to EU member states to limit visas for tourists arriving on European soil by land.