Posted Sep 30, 2022, 4:31 PM
“Threats to security at our borders are to be taken very seriously,” said Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, on Friday. Citing the attack on the gas pipelines in the Baltic, the annexation of four regions of Ukraine by Russia and the discovery of mass graves by Ukrainian forces, the Swede presented the new recommendations from Brussels to the Member States regarding the granting of visas to Russian citizens.
Two days after proposing a new set of sanctions against Moscow, the Commission invites the Twenty-Seven to “evaluate the conditions under which Russian citizens are granted a Schengen visa in a restrictive and coordinated manner”. National authorities must carefully weigh the justification for the trip.
If there is no question of derogating from international rules on the right to asylum, the consulates of EU countries must analyze the possible humanitarian reasons put forward. They should also try to find out whether people applying for short-stay visas intend to stay longer in the EU.
Revocation
Ylva Johansson also recalls that possession of a visa does not automatically confer on its bearer a right of entry into the Schengen zone. Border guards have the power to revoke a visa if they deem there is a valid reason to do so.
The Commission also wants to ensure that the Member States ensure that they do not allow a Russian citizen to enter their border if they have been refused at the border of another country in the Schengen area (which includes 26 countries, four of which are not not part of the EU). The Twenty-Seven are still encouraged to re-examine long-term visas, but this is a national competence.
serious concerns
The Commission intends to monitor its guidelines constantly to be able to adapt them if necessary. The new recommendations respond to a strong concern of countries bordering Russia, which have seen the influx of Russian citizens increase after the announcement, ten days ago, of a partial mobilization in Russia.
Many Russians have also fled to countries in the EU’s neighbourhood, perhaps with the intention of joining the Union later. Among these people could be agents of the Putin regime seeking to organize terrorist or sabotage actions.
As of September 9, the Twenty-Seven suspended a 2007 visa facilitation agreement. According to Ylva Johansson, in September there were between 10,000 and 20,000 additional entries of Russian citizens compared to a normal September. Asylum applications are only counted in dozens.
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