We meet Russian tourists in the Louvre, in the Palace of Versailles or in the old town of Tallinn. At the same time, thousands of Ukrainians are being killed in Boutcha, Irpin, Mariupol and elsewhere. Is it moral that Russian holidaymakers are free to have fun all over Europe while their country wages a genocidal war against Ukraine? I confirm that this is not moral and that we must act immediately.
Estonia has already taken an important step: it has just closed its territory to Russian citizens holding Schengen visas issued by Estonia. This is an important measure that shows that our country does not accept either the Russian war or tourist trips by nationals of this aggressor state. A measure that underscores our determination to make systematic efforts to further increase the price of this aggression on Russia.
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This decision is also of great importance in terms of security, since the number of Russian tourists arriving at our borders has increased sharply. Immediately after the war began, the European Union (EU) acted decisively and forcefully by closing its airspace to Russian planes. This decision severely limits travel opportunities for Russians to Europe, but does not end their visas.
Alignment of the Schengen system with the sanctions policy
So now they travel overland, mainly through Estonia, Latvia and Finland. The workload at the Estonian border posts has increased significantly since mid-July. Russian tourists swarm the streets of our three countries, which alone bear the full brunt.
Since the beginning of the war, 1 million Russian nationals have traveled to the European Union, a third of them via Estonia. In addition, we must ensure that none of the Russian nationals entering the Schengen area endanger our security.
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The fact is that several of them, officially on vacation, used microphones and cameras to shoot propaganda videos. In addition, the measures taken by Estonia are clearly insufficient. We must go further with sanctions against Russia, including travel restrictions across Europe.
Schengen visa policy must be aligned with the general principles on which our sanctions against Russia are based. A ban on Russian tourists on European territory is no different from sanctions aimed at luxury goods. In fact, traveling in Europe is a luxury only the affluent middle class can afford.
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