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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has confirmed the Russian readiness for a visa-free regime with the European Union and urged EU member countries to be more active in this process. The abolition of visa formalities must not be unilateral, Putin said after negotiations with German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. The visa regime and border formalities create problems for business contacts, he said.
“The Russian stand is well known. We call for the maximal simplification of visa formalities, and we have repeatedly declared the readiness for a visa-free regime,” he said.
The abolition of visa formalities is not only a Russian concern, Putin said. “The EADS leader said at today’s meeting with German businessmen that we must somehow simplify visa formalities,” he said. “He told me that they had created engineering teams, which needed rapid transfers from one country to another but numerous problems occurred. I think that everything impeding normal economic development must be eliminated,” Putin said.
A number of EU member countries, primarily the Baltic republics, oppose the abolition of visa regime with Russia for fear of illegal immigration.
EU officials say informally that the abolition of visas is only a question of time, but EU member countries have serious disagreements about measures, which must be taken before abolishing visas.
“Fears that visa-free traveling may cause a growth in illegal migration are not founded,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this year. “We have been holding negotiations with EU experts for three years. There is a common understanding that Russia and the European Union do not present an illegal migration threat to each other.”
If visa formalities are abolished, “border control will remain, law enforcers will stay in contact and the readmission agreement will be still valid,” Lavrov said.
A high-ranking representative of the European Commission said that neither the European Union nor Russia is ready for the immediate abolition of visa formalities. Russian visa requirements to Europeans are very strict and prohibitive, he said, referring to the European Commission data. EU states issued short-term visas to 3.6 million Russian citizens, while Russia issued only 1.8 million visas to Europeans in 2008. Meanwhile, the total population of 27 EU member countries 3.5 times exceeds the population of Russia. The officer was unable to cite the precise number of visa denials to Russians and EU citizens.
He said it was necessary to ensure long-term residence of Europeans in Russia, together with work permits. The officer stressed the importance of biometric passports in Russia, improvement of border control procedures and regular notification of the Interpol about lost ids. Russia and the European Union have a profound interest in the visa-free regime based on reciprocal measures, he said.
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