Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many European countries have imposed sanctions on Russia, and such sanctions have now prevented many Russians from traveling to European countries.
However, on this matter, there are also big differences among EU member states. At the foreign ministers’ meeting of EU member states starting on the 30th of this month, foreign ministers from various countries argued endlessly over whether to stop issuing visas to Russians. It stands to reason that EU member states that have been imposing sanctions on Russia should be unanimous on this matter. Why are they quarreling about this?
EU member states have been divided into two groups on this issue. On one side are countries such as Lithuania and Estonia that want to ban all Russians from entering. On the other side are countries led by Germany and France that oppose the ban on Russians from entering. countries.
Among the countries that support the suspension of visas to Russians, Estonia was the first to take action. This European country announced in the middle of this month that it would close its borders to more than 50,000 Russian tourists who had obtained visas. Russian tourists who have been turned away have nothing to do about this move by the Estonian government.
Like Estonia, there are Finland European countries that have "hatred" towards Russia and are preparing to stop issuing visas to Russians.
It is summer in Finland now, and in previous years Finland would welcome a large number of tourists at this time, including Russians. However, the Finnish government would rather not make money from these Russian tourists than to close the border to them. According to Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto, Finland will restrict the number of Russian tourists entering the country starting from the 1st of next month, and limit them to about 10% of the current number of tourists entering Finland.
In other words, by then, the Finnish government may also drive away a group of Russian tourists. This may be Finland's revenge for the so-called Russian "invasion" of and Ukraine .
In addition, the Lithuanian government is also very anxious in this matter.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Lanzbergis publicly stated last Tuesday: If the EU does not enact this ban in the alliance, then Lithuania may join forces with Finland, Estonia and other EU countries that support this ban to prevent the arrival of Russians. .
At that time, Landsbergis also said very confidently: He could not see any differences among these EU countries on the issue of the ban.
It seems that Lithuania has been waiting for the EU to issue this ban for a long time and has begun to prepare for it. However, at the EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting that started on the 30th of this month, the attitudes of the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Hungary, etc. undoubtedly poured cold water on Lithuania's expectations.
The foreign ministers of Germany and France jointly issued a warning at the EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting that day, saying that the EU cannot stop issuing visas to all Russians because this will make Russians start to support nationalism and stimulate their anti-European sentiments. They also said: The important tool of visas should be used wisely.
However, countries such as Lithuania do not seem to care about the warnings from Germany and France. They still hope that the EU will issue this ban and sanction all Russian .
The Hungarian Foreign Minister believes that European countries have already hurt themselves in the energy sanctions against Russia, so they should not increase sanctions on Russia. I am afraid that they will still hurt the European countries themselves in the end.
Some analysts believe that Germany, France and Hungary have rarely remained sober in this disagreement. After all, for European countries, their previous sanctions on Russia have indeed brought them a lot of troubles, including energy crises and high inflation crises.
When Russians travel to these countries, they can of course bring more benefits to the local areas. Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin believes that if European countries ban Russians from entering, these countries will suffer losses of at least 21 billion euros.
According to the latest survey data from analysis company Global Data, Russian tourists spend about US$22.5 billion abroad every year.Therefore, if European countries close their borders to these Russian tourists, they will have to travel to other countries.
Germany and France were already "shaken" by the energy shortage crisis and were unwilling to increase sanctions on Russia. Now when faced with this issue, it is not surprising that Germany and France have chosen to oppose sanctions against the Russians.
What the foreign ministers of the two countries said about "smart use of the visa tool" may be revealing that their governments intend to use this to set a higher entry "threshold" for Russian tourists and continue to impose sanctions on Russia while gaining economic benefits. purpose.
An EU diplomat revealed to the media that if EU member states cannot reach an agreement on this issue, Russians who want to travel to European countries may have to pay more application fees and use more Time to wait. He mentioned that the fee for Russians to apply for entry may be increased from 35 euros to 80 euros (approximately 553 yuan).
Therefore, when it comes to issues related to national economic interests, the governments of Germany and France may be the most sober.
