Asta Skaisgirytė, Lithuanian president’s chief foreign policy adviser, doubts that the European Union can reach a unanimous agreement on visa restrictions for Russian tourists.
Germany and southern European countries are sceptical about the idea, according to Skaisgirytė.
“[These countries] get a lot of income from tourism, especially now, in the post-pandemic period. It’s important for them that tourism recovers, and Russians make up a large part of the tourist population,” the adviser told LRT RADIO on Thursday.
Lithuania might try to convince sceptical countries, she added, “but there are arguments that other countries have”.
“We need a united EU position, and I don’t see that united position yet,” Skaisgirytė said.
Lithuania was one of the first EU countries to restrict the issuance of new Schengen and national visas to Russian citizens after Russia invaded Ukraine. Latvia and Estonia later made similar decisions.
Tallinn has gone even further and is not allowing Russian tourists with Estonian Schengen visas to enter the country as of Thursday.
The Czech Republic, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said last week that a visa ban for all Russian citizens could be added to the existing EU sanctions for Moscow.
However, Berlin disagrees, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying that the invasion of Ukraine “is not the Russian people’s war, it’s Putin’s war”.
Read more: Lithuanian minister calls for EU-wide decision on visa ban for Russian tourists
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