Hungary’s decision to ease the entry procedure for Russian and Belarusian citizens increases security risks in Europe, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said.
“Hungary’s unilateral decisions, including the one on facilitating the issuance of visas to Russian and Belarusian citizens, contradict the EU’s values, principles of solidarity and agreements,” Nausėda said in a comment on Wednesday.
“Hungary allowing citizens of the aggressor country, Russia, and the country involved [in the aggression], Belarus, to travel freely across Europe increases security risks in Europe,” the Lithuanian president added.
Nausėda also called the construction of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, which will be carried out by Rosatom and the Belarusian representatives, “who have failed to manage the safety and construction problems at the Astravyets nuclear power plant [in Belarus] and have occupied the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”, a project that makes questionable sense.
Earlier this month, Hungary announced a new facilitated visa scheme under which citizens of eight countries, including Russia and Belarus, can enter Hungary without security checks or other restrictions.
Budapest claims that many of those entering under this scheme will be building a nuclear power plant.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry told BNS on Tuesday that Lithuania would turn to the European Commission over Hungary’s decision to ease the entry regime for Russian and Belarusian citizens.
In response, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on Facebook that “the Baltic propaganda campaign against our country has resumed”.
Untapped ways
According to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, the EU member states have yet untapped ways to stop Russian citizens from entering the Schengen area, even if Budapest liberalises their access to visas.
Lithuania has already asked the European Commission to assess Hungary’s decision to liberalise the issuance of Schengen visas for Russian and Belarusian citizens.
“The next step could be to look for a regional solution, as we have done in the past,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Vilnius on Wednesday.
“There are opportunities. For example, and I’m speaking in theory for the time being, [any] member state has the right to ask for a consultation on the arrival of people. In the sense that they would not be automatically granted entry to the Schengen area, but other member states would be consulted on each of them,” he added.
“This, of course, aggravates [entry] very strongly, restricts the other side and burdens it with bureaucratic red tape, but I just want to say that there are some options. They have not been used so far because no country has ever done so,” Landsbergis pointed out.
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