Status: 08/22/2022 10:51 a.m
Should Russian tourists no longer receive EU visas? German politicians are arguing about this – while some EU countries are already taking action.
Various Union politicians are calling for an end to the issuing of visas to Russian tourists. European politician Dennis Radtke told the “Bild” newspaper that it was unbearable that Russians were vacationing in Europe and wasting their money as if nothing had happened.
And the deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Andrea Lindholz, said: “Vacation destinations in Putin’s Russia can no longer be Paris and Porto, but Pyongyang and Beijing.” According to Lindholz, the federal government must not again oppose its European partners.
No more visas for Russians
Some EU countries had already single-handedly stopped issuing Schengen visas to Russians. These include Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic. They also followed the appeal of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, who had repeatedly called on the West to ban Russians from entering the country.
Finland wants to reduce the current 1,000 visas per day by 90 percent from September. Poland also supports an EU-wide visa ban, Denmark is pushing for a joint EU solution, but otherwise wants to act alone.
Criticism and understanding of Nouripour
The Greens chairman Omid Nouripour criticized the demands of the Union politicians, but also expressed understanding. He understands the feelings of those who wanted to prevent tourist trips by Russian citizens to the EU because of the brutal attack on Ukraine, said Nouripour in an interview with the German Press Agency. In view of the high level of support for President Vladimir Putin in Russia, one must make it clear that “it doesn’t work that way.”
On the other hand, the experience of the rule of law in the states of the European Union is something that is very, very helpful, especially against such dictatorships.
Instead of locking out all Russians, more needs to be done to stop those who actively support Putin from traveling to the EU, Nouripour said. He referred to the jailed Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who pointed out that hundreds of oligarchs continue to go to Saint-Tropez to shop. “It’s not a sustainable situation,” Nouripour said.
Amthor is skeptical
The CDU politician Philipp Amthor also expressed skepticism about the initiative of his Union colleagues to exclude Russian tourists from the EU. In an interview with the ntv broadcaster, he warned against punishing the Russian people collectively.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already rejected a demand to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens.
Meanwhile, at a congress near Moscow, Moscow’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu described the proposals to ban Russians from entering the European Union as “Nazi policy” and warned against “Russophobic ideas”.