Warsaw is currently developing a draft proposal that would allow the EU to refuse visas to Russian travelers, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk told the nation’s PAP news agency on Sunday. A decision on the matter can be expected within the coming weeks, he added.
The deputy minister did not elaborate on the exact details of the proposal, which is still in the works, but said that its purpose is to head off the potential resistance of some key EU members that are likely to oppose a blanket visa ban on all Russians.
Poland is in favor of suspending the 2007 agreement between Brussels and Moscow on “the facilitation of the issuance of visas” altogether. This treaty regulates the issuance of visas “for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days” for the citizens of Russia and the EU.
Yet, according to Wawrzyk, not all EU members are on board with such an initiative. “This is opposed by large member states, including Germany, France and the Netherlands,” he said. Since it is “impossible to overcome the resistance of these countries to suspend the agreement … Poland is working on a new solution,” he added.