The Minister of the Interior and Administration of Poland, Mariusz Kaminski, signed an order to strengthen restrictions on entry into the country for Russians, follows from his message on Twitter.
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He clarified that such a step was the result of agreements between Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
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The rationale for the order, published on the official resource of Polish legislative acts, states that, together with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Poland is introducing “temporary national measures for Russian citizens holding EU visas” “to counter direct threats to public order and security.”
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The justification also states that “the possibility of entry into the Schengen zone to Russian citizens traveling for tourism, cultural, sports and business purposes” is limited. The document notes that the restrictions “do not impose a complete ban on entry” as “reasonable exemptions for dissidents, humanitarian purposes, family members, residence permit holders, to facilitate the movement of goods and transport services, diplomatic missions and transit traffic” will be made.
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For air and sea border crossings, the rules will come into force on September 26.At the same time, an air carrier that takes on board an aircraft a person who does not have the right to enter the EU through a border crossing located on the territory of Poland will be obliged to return him at his own expense.
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At an informal meeting in Prague on September 1, the EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend the visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the EU. This will make obtaining them longer, more difficult and more expensive. An agreement was also reached that border countries could restrict the entry of Russians at the national level, which was used by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
