The authorities of Poland and the Baltic countries have agreed on restrictions on the entry of Russians into the Schengen zone, which should come into force by September 19. This was reported in a joint statement published on the website of the Polish government on Thursday.
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“Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have agreed on a joint regional approach and hereby express their political will and firm intention to introduce temporary national measures for Russian citizens holding EU visas to counter imminent threats to public order and security, to restrict entry into the Schengen area for Russian citizens, traveling for tourism, cultural, sports and business purposes,” the statement said.
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“Temporary national measures based on a common approach should come into force separately in each country by September 19, 2022,” the statement said.
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“We emphasize that this is not a total entry ban and that mutually agreed justified exceptions will be maintained for dissidents, humanitarian cases, family members, residence permit holders, to facilitate the movement of goods and transport services, diplomatic missions, transit for travelers to and from Kaliningrad, etc.,” the governments of the four countries stressed.
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In a statement, Poland and the Baltic states expressed “concern about the significant and growing influx of Russian citizens across [their] borders into the EU and the Schengen area.”
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“We believe this is becoming a serious threat to our security,” the statement said.
