Polen wil geen visa uitgeven voor deelnemers Gay-pride mars uit Wit-Rusland (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Barring a few special cases, the Polish foreign ministry has explained that it will not issue gratis EU visas to people from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine keen to take part in a gay pride march in Warsaw.
"The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not inform Warsaw sexual minority parade organisers that people from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine wishing to take part in the June march would temporarily be able to enter the EU for free," the ministry said in a letter to EUobserver on Thursday (12 May).
"Poland is bound by the Schengen Agreement and thus has absolutely no grounds to temporarily waive Schengen visa fees," it added
The ministry issued the statement after this website reported the visa fees would be put aside, citing the organisers of the pride event on 11 June.
The organisers on 18 March received a letter from foreign ministry official Janusz Bliski which said "there is no possibility of a general waiver of fees related to visa procedures for all people who might declare a willingness to take part in the parade."
But it added that "decisions on this issue [visa fee waivers] will be taken individually on the basis of possibilities created by the common visa code", giving organisers hope that all genuine gay rights activists would be let in without paying the fee.
They made the positive interpretation because Bliski said pride visitors would be able to come in without first producing formal letters of invitation and because he accepted the organisers' candidate - Amnesty International activist Wiaczeslaw Bortnik - as an advisor on who is genuine and who is not.
When asked if Poland is right in its reading of the Schegen code, the European Commission cited article 16.6 of the agreement on fee exemptions. But it refused to comment on Poland's reading of it.
"In individual cases, the amount of the visa fee to be charged may be waived or reduced when to do so serves to promote cultural or sporting interests as well as interests in the field of foreign policy, development policy and other areas of vital public interest or for humanitarian reasons," it says.
Poland back in February waived costs for visas covering Polish territory only for all Belarusian nationals, whether gay rights activists or not. But the unilateral act did not cover permits to travel in the whole Schengen area.
The confusion on gay pride visas saw some Polish commentators urge the government to go ahead with the waiver.
"How much would we gain among illuminated, tolerant people who are free from prejudice, if we drop these visas? A countless amount. Not just in Europe, but in the whole world," Polish writer Pawel Smolenski wrote in the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, referring to Poland' international reputation.
The Polish foreign ministry's statement on Thursday noted: "Poland always welcomes all visitors irrespective of their nationality, race, sexual preference or religious beliefs."