EU en Rusland bereiden gesprekken over visa-vrij reizen voor (en)
BRUSSELS - France and Germany have said the EU should quickly open talks with Russia on visa-free travel despite fears it will send the wrong signal to other post-Soviet states.
EUobserver understands the foreign ministers of the two countries outlined their position at an informal dinner in Brussels on Sunday (13 November) with foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton i and fellow EU ministers.
A senior Polish diplomat on Tuesday noted that Warsaw is happy to go along with the plan: "We believe in dismantling obstacles to freedom of tourists and businessmen to travel ... If some of our member states want to move on visa liberalisation with Russia, good, Poland is at the spearhead [of the process] with the local border traffic agreement for Kaliningrad."
The contact was referring to an agreement by EU interior ministers earlier this month to free up travel for cross-border traders in the Russian exclave in a move which could enter into force by the end of the year.
Asked if the formal dialogue on visa-free entry for all Russians could be launched at the upcoming EU-Russia summit, the Polish EU presidency source said: "I am actually not sure where we are on this."
The visa question is highly political because it gives the impression Russia is more important to the EU than smaller post-Soviet countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The smaller countries were made to invest in biometric passports and increased border security before getting visa free talks despite being part of the so-called Eastern Partnership - a club of EU-friendly countries which have committed to far-reaching democratic reforms.
A joint letter to Ashton by German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and Poland's Radek Sikorski at the weekend underlined the fact Russia is in a different league.
The ministers noted that Russia has far to go in terms of democracy and human rights, but said it "holds great political influence ... offers considerable economical opportunities and owns enormous natural resources." It added: "[A] strong and ambitious partnership between the EU and Russia will not only have a positive effect on our security but also contribute to Europe’s geopolitical weight and influence."
For his part, Romanian foreign minister Teodor Baconschi went on the record on Monday with a complaint against any special treatment for Moscow. "At the Sunday informal dinner on Russia we asked for 'regional coherence' on mobility. Meaning, visas should not to be liberalised for Russia while leaving other partners in the region waiting," he said.
The launch of visa free talks is an open-ended process that could take years before travel restrictions are actually lifted, with Ukraine and Moldova still in pole position in the race due to previous reforms.
Writing in his blog in EUobserver, European Council on Foreign Relations analyst Nicu Popescu noted the Russia move could be seen as a "present" that legitimises Russian Prime Minister's takeover of the Russian presidency next year, however.
He added that Russia poses a variety of immigration challenges because it is the second largest source in the world of asylum seekers after Afghanistan and because it is unlikely to welcome EU fact-finding missions on its borders with, for example, Kazakhstan, to monitor implementation of EU demands.
For its part, Europol i in its 2011 Organised Crime Threat Assessment noted that visa liberalisation with Russia "may lead to widespread abuse" and would "undoubtedly present new opportunities for organised crime groups involved in illegal immigration."