Exclusive: Finland pushes to all but eliminate Russian travel in EU
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LUXEMBOURG — Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has made five requests to the EU that would drastically curtail Russian citizens' ability to travel into and around the bloc, in a letter dated Oct. 12 and seen by the Kyiv Independent.
"The Kremlin must see that continued aggression will deepen its isolation. I ask you to take these proposals forward as an urgent priority," writes Valtonen, as EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg.
The first demand is to "stop issuing Schengen visas to Russian nationals for non-essential travel, including tourism." Finland has placed national restrictions since 2022, she said, but several countries — notably France, Spain, and Italy — have opposed attempts to ban Russian tourist visas.
Valtonen writes that she would support a German proposal "for visas with limited territorial validity," but only as an interim measure.
Second, Valtonen calls for a binding visa ban as a sanctions measure against Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and any people or entities sanctioned by the EU.
And third, Finland wants to refuse visas to "Russian athletes and sports team members with close ties to the Russian government."
The reentry of Russian athletes at world sporting events has caused considerable anger in EU political circles, and the EU's Sports Commissioner, Glenn Micallef, is attending the Oct. 12 foreign ministers' meeting — for the first time — to discuss what actions can be taken.
Valtonen also reissued the call for a visa ban on Russian ex-combatants from entering the EU, which was previously proposed in the EU's 21st sanctions package from July, but was watered down as countries could not agree on the mechanism for enforcement.
The ex-combatants ban was also mentioned ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting by Valtonen's Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, who warned of the risk their entry to the EU represents, with "many of them supported by the Russian secret services."
And finally, Finland has asked the European Commission "to submit a robust amendment to the visa code," that would "enable the (European) Union to impose binding visa restrictions swiftly and consistently when its political or security relations with a third country deteriorate severely."
The European Commission is expected to propose a new visa law in January that will take a much tougher approach toward countries that threaten the EU, such as Russia.
