Germany refuses to back calls for Russia tourist visa ban
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is refusing to back growing calls for an EU-wide ban on giving tourist visas to Russians.
Speaking in Oslo after a meeting with Nordic leaders, Scholz said: “This is not the war of the Russian people. It is Putin's war and we have to be very clear on that topic”
“It is important to us to understand that there are a lot of people fleeing from Russia because they are disagreeing with the Russian regime,” he told a press conference on Monday in the Norwegian capital.
Over the last month, Finland and Estonia have been among the leading voices calling for an EU-wide approach to tackle the issue of Russians exploiting a sanctions "loophole" which allows them to travel by land in the EU, when sanctions would otherwise prevent them from flying or taking the train.
There's concern that this lets Russians use international airports like Helsinki to travel freely, go on holiday, and avoid the consequences that sanctions were intended to have.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who supports a tourist visa ban, said in Oslo that it was an issue the EU needs to discuss.
“It is not a black or white question, there are shades of grey,” she said, echoing the comments of her foreign minister who recently told Euronews that "if we reduce the amount of Schengen visas we issue, we should have a more coordinated EU approach".
And Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote recently on Twitter that "visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from Russia is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (Finland, Estonia, Latvia - sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now."
Her comments caused a swift and outraged response from the
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