Five EU countries ready to introduce national measures to limit entry of russians

Eastern EU countries that are russia's neighbors threaten to take "national measures" to reduce the number of russian citizens entering their countries

It is discussed in the countries' joint statement, quoted by the Financial Times.

It will happen if the European Union disagrees on a collective approach. This will also apply to the Schengen zone.

As noted, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania demand from the European Commission to propose "respective measures on visas."

These measures "will decisively reduce the flow of russian citizens to the European Union and the Schengen area."

"Until such measures are in place on the EU level, we will consider setting up temporary measures on the national level in order to address imminent public security issues related to the increased influx of Russian citizens across our borders," the representatives of the 5 EU countries stressed.

The threat raises the stakes for Wednesday's visa debate.

Brussels seeks to maintain unity among its members while continuing to punish russia for its war against Ukraine.

"This is our national competence per the principle of national security to decide the issue of entering our territory," said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu.

About 700,000 russians have entered five countries since russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

Most tourists use the border countries as a gateway for a holiday trip to the western EU countries.

"We believe that this could become a serious threat to public security," the five countries said in a joint statement.

It also emphasizes the need to maintain "exceptions for dissidents as well as other humanitarian cases."

"We need to continue to support opponents of the Putin regime and provide them with opportunities to leave Russia," the statement emphasizes.

In the absence of consensus on the ban, the foreign ministers will use the meeting in Prague to agree on the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Moscow in 2007.

This will make russian visas more expensive, require more supporting documents and lead to longer waiting times.

The five countries said the suspension was a "necessary first step."

But that won't stop them from seeking more stringent measures to reduce the number of russians entering their countries.

According to the EU's chief diplomat, the countries are unlikely to agree on a complete ban on tourist trips.

However, they may agree to specific changes to the current rules for issuing visas to russian citizens.

The Czech Republic, chairing the EU Council, put forward a proposal to suspend the visa agreement with russia as a compromise option.

This step involves an increase in the visa fee from 35 to 80 euros and an increase in the time for processing visa applications and the number of documents required for this.