Poland preparing mechanism for EU-wide tourist visa ban on Russians amid war in Ukraine

Poland on Sunday, Aug 14 announced that it is working on a proposal to ban Russian citizens from entering the country under tourist visas in support of Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic and other EU member states. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Piotr Vavzyk, told Polish Radio that Poland is in favour of more sanctions as well as a Russian tourist ban across the entire EU in an attempt to punish the Russian Federation for invading Ukraine. While Warsaw agrees on the enactment of a total suspension of the visa regime for citizens of the Russian Federation, major EU members are against it, said Vavzyk.  

“Major member states, including Germany, France and the Netherlands, are against it. Due to the fact that it is impossible to overcome the resistance of these countries regarding the suspension of the agreement on visa facilitation for citizens of the Russian Federation, Poland is working on a new solution," Vavzyk told the Polish broadcaster.

Poland negotiating for EU-wide Russian visa ban for weeks

According to the Polish minister, diplomacy with Moscow shall be stripped completely. He informed that Poland has been negotiating on this topic with some member countries for several weeks now. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have all agreed to impose such a blanket ban for Russian tourists. "A decision on the visa ban is expected in the coming weeks," he also informed.  European Union foreign ministers are expected to hold a meeting to discuss the possible visa restrictions for Russian citizens at the end of August.

The Czech Republic, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, also backed the proposal to ban the Russian tourist visa across the entire EU this week. “The flat halting of Russian visas by all EU member states could be another very effective sanction,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipovsky said in a statement. The three EU nations Estonia, Latvia and Finland have been pushing for the bloc to ban Russian citizens from travelling into the member states via land, a loophole that the latter have exploited despite the air travel ban.  

Estonia’s top diplomat Urmas Reinsalu urged the implementation of the proposal that will be presented to the Council of the European Union, chaired by the Czech Republic. Lipovsky said that he will include the proposal on the agenda of the EU foreign ministers’ informal meeting scheduled for Prague on August 31.