That’s not how Jonas Gahr Støre imagined it. The Norwegian Prime Minister had invited Chancellor Olaf Scholz to a meeting with the Nordic countries to emphasize the great unity in times of Russian war of aggression. When the heads of government of the other Nordic countries gather with him and Scholz for a press conference in Oslo’s Munch Museum, he even emphasizes the “historical importance” of the meeting. First of all, everyone agrees. It is about independence from Russian gas and the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden. But then a question is asked that is increasingly causing controversy in Europe: is it okay for Russians to vacation in Europe while Russian soldiers are killing in Ukraine?
For Chancellor Scholz, the answer is clear. During his summer press conference, he had already spoken of “Putin’s war,” for which the Russians should not be held entirely responsible. “This is not the war of the Russian people, this is Putin’s war. We have to be very clear on that,” he emphasized in Oslo. Sanctions have been imposed on those “responsible for the war”. That will continue.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin does not want to let things stand that way. In Finland, which has a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, there is a particularly heated debate about the large numbers of Russian tourists who have recently returned. “Ordinary Russians didn’t start the war, but we have to recognize that they support the war,” says Marin. It’s just “not right” that Russian citizens can travel to the Schengen area, “see the sights while Russia is killing people in Ukraine.”
This is also how it is seen in the Baltic States, which together with Poland are working in the European Union to no longer issue Schengen visas to Russian tourists. The Czech Presidency has already put the issue on the agenda. The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks of an “important discussion” in Oslo, which of course is also a code for how controversial the topic is.
14,237 Russians received a German Schengen visa from March to July
“I agree with Olaf,” says the Dane, “but at the same time I find it understandable that some Europeans, and especially some Ukrainians, find it a bit strange that Russia is attacking a European country, a war is raging in Europe and we are tourists from the country at the same time received that attacked another country.” It is an uneasiness that Scholz only partially accepts. A total of 14,237 Russians received a German Schengen visa from March to July – i.e. in the months after the start of the war. Scholz wants visas to continue to be issued in the future.
“We have to discuss,” he concedes, “that’s how it should be in the democratic world.” But then he refers to Russians who wanted to leave their country. “We have to understand that many people are fleeing Russia because they are against the regime,” he says. It should not be made difficult for anyone to “escape the dictatorship in Russia”.
The Finn is not convinced. “There are also many people in Russia who are against the war, who are threatened,” she admits, “but in general I understand the frustration very well when Russians travel through Europe as if nothing were wrong.” The Norwegian Støre, whose country does not belong to the EU but is part of the Schengen area, recalls the flight ban, which severely restricts Russians’ travel opportunities. In addition, trips by Russians also offer the chance to confront them with a reality that is not part of Russian propaganda. They were given “the opportunity to look at the conflict from a different angle”. Only Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is keeping a low profile for the time being. There are, she says, “strong arguments going both ways.”