European officials believe that every citizen of Russia who enters the territory of the EU should be checked more thoroughly.
In connection with the announcement of mobilization in Russiathe number of those wishing to leave the country and flee from participation in the war against Ukraine increased rapidly. Some of the Russians, according to European officials, pose a threat to international security and may be involved in Vladimir Putin's regime. That is why the European Commission introduced new rules for the entry of citizens of the Russian Federation into the territory of the EU. They provide for a thorough check of each specific request and a limit on the number of visas for Russians. This is reported by Euronews with reference to the statement of the Commissioner of Internal Affairs of the European Commission Ilva Johansson.
She said the new rules are a response to the security threat that could arise from the passage of more Russian citizens fleeing mobilization, as well as the “serious situation “caused by Russia's illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
Johansson urged EU member states to carry out a more thorough security assessment of each short-stay visa application and said that if there was any doubt that a person intended to stay beyond the standard 90-day period or may pose a security threat, the visa should be refused.
Read also: Norway has suspended the simplified visa regime with the Russian Federation
“We saw Russian citizens who came on tourist visas with the aim of provoking Ukrainian refugees and promoting President Vladimir Putin. I think the overall situation is that the security threat in general is much more serious. This means that we have to conduct a much more thorough safety assessment of every person we let into the EU from Russia,” Johansson said.
Some 66,000 Russian citizens entered the EU legally in the week following Putin's announcement of partial mobilization, according to statistics cited in a Euronews story. Most of them arrived in Finland and Estonia, which share a land border with Russia.
The EU said it expects an increase in attempts to cross the border illegally if Russia decides to fully close the possibility of leaving for potential conscripts. An increase in the illegal stay in the EU of Russian citizens who are already in EU member states is also not excluded.
Read also: Hungary will continue to issue visas to Russians – Szijarto
Earlier it was reported that Finland closed its borders to Russian tourists.
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