EU countries conflicted over legality of banning Russians – media — Analysis

Finnish diplomats warn that Russians cannot be refused entry due to their nationality.
The Finnish Foreign Ministry considers the grounds for Estonia’s blanket ban on entry for Russian holders of tourist visas “legally questionable,” Finland’s state broadcaster Yle has reported. The ban might be both in breach of EU laws and Schengen zone rules, the diplomats believe, according to a memo prepared by the ministry for the country’s government.
“Estonia tries to appeal to the fact that Russian and Belarusian tourist visa holders threaten the country’s public order, internal security and international relations – directly on the basis of their nationality. This interpretation by Estonia can be considered legally questionable,”According to Yle, the memo says:
Targeting Russians based on their nationality is in breach of the bloc’s rules, and Finland itself could not “prevent the entry of Russian tourist visa holders directly on the basis of nationality without violating EU law,”This memo is noted. Although Finnish diplomats believe Estonia violated EU laws by moving its visa, Helsinki hasn’t made public comment on the matter.

Estonia had previously announced that it would deny Russian tourists with valid Schengen visas entry, regardless of which EU country they were issued. This ban will take effect on Monday. Latvia, Lithuania and Poland announced a similar ban earlier this month.
While avoiding a blanket ban on Russians, Finland itself has reduced issuance of tourist visas to the country’s nationals to a small fraction of the previous numbers. Following the suspension of the EU-Russia visa facilitation deal, the European Council was able to suspend it. The move didn’t directly ban Russian visas from being issued, but it did increase visa processing fees.
Sanna Marin, the Finnish Prime Minister, demanded more EU sanctions earlier this week. He insists that all current restrictions (including the suspension of the Visa Facilitation Agreement) are being lifted. “not enough”And the bloc should put more effort into humassnews.common Russians.
“We must be ready to take more sanctions because the more impact we [have] with sanctions, the more expensive it will become for Russia to continue this war,”Marin addressed the European Parliament.
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