PRAGUE, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The 27 must not show their divisions over a possible European Union (EU) wide ban on tourist visas for Russians, the head of the EU said on Wednesday. European diplomacy Josep Borrell, urging member states to find common ground.
“We have to come to an agreement and a political decision,” Josep Borrell said as he arrived on the second and final day of a meeting of foreign ministers in Prague.
“I will work for unity (…) We cannot allow ourselves to appear disunited on such an important subject, namely the relations between (…) Russian society and the European population”, added the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU brought together the heads of diplomacy of the Twenty-Seven to discuss new sanctions against Russia, six months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
The proposal by several Member States bordering Russia to completely ban the issue of tourist visas to Russian nationals – also called for by the Ukrainian authorities – has aroused firm opposition from several countries, including France and Germany.
However, the participants in the meeting seem inclined to try to reach a compromise.
“I think it will be more effective if we can make decisions together between European countries,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, whose country is among the promoters of a total ban.
For her part, the head of German diplomacy Annalena Baerbock warned that “we can be strong together, but only if we think like Europeans, without retreating into nationalist shells”.
According to the Financial Times, the Member States supporting the ban – the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) as well as Finland and Poland, which all share a land border with Russia – sent a joint statement to the Commission to call for measures to “drastically reduce the flow of Russian citizens to the European Union and the Schengen area”.
“Until such measures are in place at EU level, we will consider putting in place temporary arrangements at national level,” they announced, still according to the British business daily.
A European diplomatic source said on Monday that divisions over a ban were too deep to allow consensus but said a compromise could be found on a suspension of the Russian-European agreement on the facilitation of the issuance of visas, with the aim of result in a more complex, longer and more costly procedure for Russian citizens.
(Report Sabine Siebold, Jason Hovert, Bart Meijer; French version Myriam Rivet, edited by Tangi Salaün)