EU: Visa ban for Russian citizens wins support of Czech presidency

The Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has backed calls by some member states to ban visas for Russian citizens across the bloc because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said his government would seek consensus on the measure, which has so far won little support outside the EU’s Baltic members, at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers later this month. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday he would not support the measure.

Russians “should realize that such a military policy has consequences,” Lipavsky said in a statement on Friday. The Czech Republic along with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania want to impose strict restrictions on travel and work visas for Russian citizens.

Such a broad set of restrictions on Russian citizens would be a significant escalation and move towards a separation similar to the isolation of the Soviet Union from the West during the Cold War. Travel bans so far have focused on top Russian officials in Putin’s inner circle or oligarchs.

Baltic authorities, in particular, have pushed for the issue after seeing an influx of Russian travelers enter the region since the government in Moscow lifted coronavirus restrictions last month. Russians can still enter if they have a visa issued by other EU member states, as the Schengen zone allows access to the entire bloc.

Estonia announced tighter restrictions on Thursday, saying it would bar entry to some 50,000 Russians who had been granted visas by authorities in Tallinn before the February 24 invasion. Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas has asked to cut tourist visas for Russians.

But the German chancellor said such a blanket measure was excessive, stressing that he found it difficult to envision such a move.

“It’s Putin’s war,” Scholz told reporters in Berlin when asked about the visa ban on Thursday.