The Russians are coming
Posted: Wed 1 Dec, 2010 12:07 PM
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia is ready for a visa-free regime with the European Union (EU).
Putin said that visa regimes and border formalities create problems for business contacts. However, he also stated that the abolition of visa formalities was not solely a Russian concern, and urged other EU member countries to be more active in the process, according to a report in TourExpi. A number of EU member countries, primarily the Baltic republics, oppose the abolition of visa regime with Russia for fear of illegal immigration.
However, a high-ranking representative of the European Commission said that neither the EU nor Russia was ready for the immediate abolition of visa formalities. Russian visa requirements to Europeans were very strict and prohibitive, the official said, referring to European Commission data. In 2008, EU states issued short-term visas to 3.6-million Russian citizens, while Russia issued only 1.8-million visas to Europeans.
