Estonian Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Taro spoke to LB.ua about what he discussed recently at a meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg with representatives of other Schengen countries.
“This is an unacceptable situation. I told them that we are trying to defend ourselves here, building fortifications on the external border, but the rear is unprotected because tourists are being let in,” he said.
According to the Minister of Internal Affairs, the European Commission’s analysis of the Schengen area shows that three countries issue the most visas to Russians: Italy, Spain and France. In his opinion, this exacerbates security problems in Europe.
“From our point of view, this is a security issue. Because a Russian foreign passport is not just a travel document, it is a declaration, a commitment to be loyal to a terrorist regime. And the fact that the Russian state uses its citizens for acts of sabotage and hybrid attacks is absolutely clear from past examples,” Igor Taro emphasised.
According to the head of the Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the opportunities that tourist visas provide to Russians always pose a risk to the countries they travel to, and the policy on issuing them should be common to all Schengen countries.
“As I have already said, we turn these tourists back at the border, we do not issue visas ourselves, and from our point of view, the approach of other Schengen members is incomprehensible. It must be common, because this is a matter of security for the whole of Europe. I don’t understand what they are waiting for there. Do they want to wait until it’s too late?” Taro said.
According to him, there was a discussion at the EU Council meeting about whether it is really acceptable or necessary to allow Russians to enter European countries as tourists.
“Of course, there were some surprising statements there [at the meeting in Luxembourg]. They said that it is impossible to isolate the entire Russian society, and they read out Yulia Navalny’s letter. You can’t discriminate against everyone. I say — can you say that to Ukrainians too? Give the same text to people who suffer rocket attacks every night and don’t know if they will live to see the morning. That Russians should be given the opportunity to relax in Paris or Nice,” Taro said.
According to Igor Taro, not all EU countries are equally aware of the threats posed by the Russian Federation, and it is necessary to continue to put pressure on them.
“In my opinion, complete nonsense was expressed, so we will simply continue to exert pressure — from Finland, Poland, Lithuania… There are a number of countries that understand the seriousness of the situation, and only those 3–4 are talking nonsense and do not realise the seriousness of the situation,” said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.