The Estonian Foreign Ministry announced that the Baltic countries and Poland have introduced a ban on the entry of citizens of Russia and Belarus on Schengen visas issued in other EU countries from September 19.
At an informal meeting in Prague on September 1, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend the visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the EU, which would make it longer, more difficult and more expensive to obtain.
An agreement was reached that Estonia and other countries bordering Russia can restrict the entry of Russian citizens at the national level, after which Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia agreed to introduce joint travel restrictions for Russian citizens whose purpose of visiting the EU is tourism, business or sport. or culture.
Exceptions will be made for truck drivers, diplomats and people crossing the border on humanitarian grounds.
Russian citizens who own real estate in Estonia will no longer be able to obtain a visa to visit the country and will be forced to manage their property remotely.
Earlier, Estonian Prime Minister Kaia Kallas, speaking about the entry ban for Russian citizens, said that “travel is a privilege, not a right,” stressing that due to the closure of air traffic with Russia, the only way for Russians to get to Europe is to travel through three countries, Estonia, Finland and Latvia.
Since August 18, Estonia has banned the entry of Russian citizens with a Schengen visa issued in Estonia, however, entry into the country on visas of other EU countries was still possible.
Source: RIA Novosti