HELSINKI (Sputnik) - The Finnish government is looking for ways to limit the issuance of tourist visas to Russians and plans to raise the issue of visa policy during the next EU Foreign Ministers' meeting in late August, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Thursday.
Haavisto presented information on the issue to the government earlier in the day after discussing it with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
"The idea is to limit the time required to apply for a tourist visa so that the priority can be given to those visas that are necessary but not tourist in nature. The foreign ministry can implement such an agreement. As we understand, it will be in accordance with the rules of the Schengen Area," Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat quoted Haavisto as saying.
Finland has ways to limit the issuance of tourist visas to Russian nationals, the minister said, adding that the fastest way to achieve this is to influence the issuance of other visa types, including visits to family members of Finnish residents and work visas, as well as the terms of issuance.
He added that a complete visa ban on Russians should only be introduced at the EU level. Therefore, Helsinki is planning to raise the issue during the extraordinary EU Foreign Council in the Czech Republic in late August, the minister said.
"Clearly, this is the issue of the Schengen Area. For example, many people arrive at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport with visas, issued by other countries of the Schengen Agreement. There are many countries that issue these visas more often than Finland," Haavisto said.
