Finland limits visas for Russians amid the rush of tourists to Europe
HELSINKI, August 16 (Reuters) – Finland will cut the number of visas granted to Russians to 10 percent from the current 1.9. from, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday in the rush of Russian tourists heading to Europe.
According to Haavisto, the decision was due to an influx of Russian tourists who started using Finland and its Helsinki-Vantaa airport as a gateway to European vacation destinations after Russia lifted pandemic-related border restrictions a month ago.
“And this might not be very appropriate if we think about the airspace restrictions imposed on Russia, for example,” Haavisto said.
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Just days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Finland joined a group of Western countries that closed their airspace to Russian planes in response, making it difficult for Russians to travel to Europe.
Finland and the Baltics would jointly propose that the European Union terminate the visa facilitation agreement with the Russian Federation, which would make it easier for Russians to travel to and within the European Union, Haavisto said.
Some EU leaders, such as Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her Estonian counterpart Kaja Kallas, have called for an EU-wide visa ban, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz disputed on Monday, saying Russians should be able to flee their homeland if they disagree. system. Read more
Finland is considering the creation of a national humanitarian visa that could be granted to Russians who had to flee or visit Europe for the purposes of, for example, journalism or lobbying, Haavisto added.
According to European Union rules, a tourist must apply for a visa from the country he plans to travel to, but he can enter the border-free Schengen zone from anywhere and travel around it for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
Finland has imposed the same sanctions on Moscow as on the rest of the EU, such as banning the import and export of some industrial products and freezing the assets of some EU banks.
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Reported by Essi Lehto, edited by Stine Jacobsen and Bernadette Baum
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