BRUSSELS. No more facilitated visas for Russian citizens. There is the political agreement at EU level, which eliminates, for everyone, the possibility of obtaining entry and residence permits on the territory of the European Union under simpler conditions. The informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the Twenty-seven operates the squeeze on the neighboring Euro-Asiatic. In times of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and the European determination not to give in in the face of aggression from Ukraine, new measures are being taken. Not real sanctions, since the agreement “does not mean that visas will no longer be obtained”, explains the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, at the end of the work. The special bilateral agreement between the European Union and Russia for documents on favorable terms is simply canceled.
“Facilitation means facilitating,” emphasizes Borrell. What happens is that Russian citizens will henceforth be treated like all other third-country nationals. “There will be no more concessions, and therefore it will be more complicated to obtain visas”, because the granting process “will be different, more complex”. More documents, more bureaucracy, more waiting. It will be up to the individual States to decide whether to open the doors of their country to applicants, in compliance with the Schengen code for free movement. For example, if France were to grant a tourist visa, the other states would have to let it pass.
But the measures don’t stop there. The political agreement found between the Twenty-Seven provides that passports issued by Russia in the occupied territories will not be recognized. One way to reaffirm the closeness to Ukraine, and its territorial integrity which for the EU consists of Crimea and Donbass.
The decision was in the air. Borrell explains that “since the beginning of July we have seen an increase in arrivals from Russia for pleasure trips, for shopping, as if there was no war”. But this is not what annoys Europe. “It’s starting to become a security issue.” This is the real crux of the matter, which Borrell touches on without going into the merits. Streams of spies are feared. Ten days ago in Albania, a NATO member state and candidate for EU membership, two Russian citizens were detained on suspicion of being Kremlin agents.
The return to the normal visa regime is the compromise that was needed to reach a shared decision. Some Member States (Germany, Greece, Cyprus) were against a total ban on Russian citizens, while the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), the Czech Republic and Finland were against short-stay visas. The restoration of the normal visa regime puts everyone in agreement, and sends another signal to Moscow.