The presence of a visa will not guarantee citizens of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation entry into the territory of the European Union. This was stated by the head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, during a speech at the inter-parliamentary conference on common EU foreign policy, Suspilne writes.

“The fact that I have a visa does not mean that I have the right to enter this or that country. Perhaps a person will not be allowed even with a visa. For example, in the USA with a visa, you can get a refusal to enter for one reason or another. The same applies to Europe,” Borrell said.

According to him, Russian tourists must pass control at the borders.

At the same time, Borrell noted that the EU does not intend to completely ban the issuance of visas to Russians, as “it should not isolate itself from civil society.”

It should be noted that the countries of Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as the Baltic countries have already unilaterally stopped issuing tourist visas to Russians, and also declared their intention not to allow Russians with visas obtained in other EU countries to enter their territory.

At a meeting in Prague on August 31, the ministers of foreign affairs of the countries of the European Union reached an agreement on the complete suspension of the simplified procedure for issuing visas to Russians, which has been in effect since the mid-2000s. Germany, France, Hungary, Cyprus and Greece oppose a complete ban on issuing visas to Russian tourists. .

Currently, visa restrictions apply only to citizens of the Russian Federation, who are included in the sanctions lists. However, because of the aggression against Ukraine, Europe is discussing the possibility of extending the restrictions to all Russians.